Josh Duggar is behind bars.
The disgraced former 19 Kids & Counting star and oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle was arrested on Thursday by federal agents. He is currently being held in an Arkansas detention center without bail.
TMZ broke the news, which came as a shock, as Josh currently has no pending legal cases against him, except for a civil case that’s currently pending for real estate fraud. However, Homeland Security raided the car dealership that Josh was working at in 2019, but no charges were ever filed against him or anyone connected to the lot.
Josh is the first in the Duggar Family to be arrested, and he delivered a relatively happy mugshot (for someone who just got tossed in the clink by the feds). He is seen smirking in the mugshot posted by TMZ.
Josh Duggar Arrested by Feds in Arkansas https://t.co/tbztI6d52e
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 29, 2021
At press time, Josh’s name is on the Washington County Detainee List. The arresting agency is listed as the U.S. Marshal. He was booked into jail on Thursday at 1:14 p.m.
He is the only Duggar that was arrested.
No charges are listed, but the records indicate that he’s being held for another department.
Interestingly, Josh’s address that is listed on his booking details is not the warehouse home he and his family live in. Instead, the address is of a home that Josh’s dad Jim Bob owns. The house— which features massive holes in the floor and a creepy indoor pool filled with frogs and spiders— was featured on an episode of ‘Counting On’ in 2017. To The Ashley’s knowledge, Josh (or anyone else in the family) ever lived there.
Josh Duggar is arrested by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He is now “on hold for other department” with no bond. #NWAnews pic.twitter.com/0xMqEBD6dK
— Chad Mira (@ChadMiraKNWA) April 29, 2021
Josh’s arrest comes just days after his wife Anna announced that she’s pregnant with the couple’s seventh child. That baby girl will join their six other kids this fall. When she was questioned by a fan how Josh could afford to support all of their kids, Anna called him a “diligent worker” who “provides well for our family.”
Josh has been in trouble in the past, but never legal trouble. He caused his family to lose their popular TLC reality show, “19 Kids and Counting” after his Sex Abuse Scandal was exposed in 2015. (Josh admitted that he molested four of his sisters, as well as another young girl, when he was a teenager.) That same year, he was exposed as a cheater when his profile on the cheating site Ashley Madison went public.
Anna and the rest of the Duggar Family has yet to speak out about Josh’s arrest. In 2019, when rumors of the Homeland Security raid hit the Internet, the family denied that their home was raided. However, HSI spokesperson Bryan Cox clarified to KNWA that a Duggar business was visited and under investigation, but not the family’s home. The business that was visited by the Feds is in the 14000 block of Wildcat Creek Road in Springdale, Arkansas. (Josh’s Wholesale Motorcars car dealership is on that street in Springdale. KNWA reported that Josh is listed as the contact for the business, but not the owner in 2019 records filed in Washington County.)
“I do not dispute the information you’ve obtained. That is the location that we were. I can’t speak to the status of any ongoing investigation. But, I do not dispute that we were present at that specific address,” said HSI Spokesperson Bryan Cox.
At this time it is unknown if Josh’s arrest has anything to do with that investigation from 2019.
Arkansas’ KNWA reports that, “According to the U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge’s Courtroom Deputy for the U.S. District Court Western District of Arkansas, Duggar will go before a judge 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 30.”
The Ashley will update this story when more info is available. Stay tuned…
UPDATE! According to a source for The Sun, the Duggar Family has known that Josh’s arrest was inevitable.
“The family has known that this has been coming for weeks, and Josh has been preparing himself,” the source told The Sun. “[The Duggars] are praying together for Josh and Anna, who is standing by her husband as she always has. Family members are extremely concerned by what is happening and they just want to find out the truth.”
The source stated that the Duggars will soon be commenting on Josh’s arrest.
“They know that this will put them in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, and are stunned they are having to go through this again. The family will be speaking out shortly and hope this in many ways will bring them closer together and even closer to God.”
UPDATE! On Friday, Josh was charged with possessing and receiving child p0rnography. Click here for full details.
RELATED STORY: Duggar Family Denies Rumors that Their Home was Raided by Homeland Security: A Look at the Rumor & A Complete Timeline of Events
(Photos: TLC; Twitter)
56 Responses
The pic of him and anna, he looks like a sleezy, smarmy, pos.
I’m sorry but any mother who would knowingly stay with a child molester and continue to have children with him doesn’t seem to care what’s in the best interest if her children. If she can’t put their safety and wellbeing first she honestly shouldn’t have them either. What message will it send her kids knowing mommy stayed with a man that harms children and gets gratification from it. How can she be trusted to care for them at all? It’s appalling. If she doesn’t fully walk away or start putting her ducks in a row so she can they should start looking into her as well. It sickens me that a mother would stay with a monster like that. I hope it’s mandated to have their kids speak to therapist’s to make sure they weren’t already harmed in any way. The second I saw he was arrested I knew it was going to be for this. I won’t say what I think needs to happen to him but I will say there’s no place in this world for pedophiles.
Yep! It’s child pornography! Disgusting, vile sub-human. He kept making babies so he could have it for free!
Just in…charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. SICK BASTARD!! Get the kids away from him!!!
I Hope to god he never abused his kids, i hope he gets 20 years in genaral pop.
It’s official. It was child pornography
I think bail is set by a judge. Since he hasn’t seen the judge yet (will at 11am Friday) I think that’s why there’s no bail. He may very well get a bail amount after he sees the judge.
3 possibilities so far…
1. CP
2. Money fraud/laundering
3. Human trafficking via fraudulent adoptions of Marshallese women’s children (check Reddit)
Child p0rn was first thing on my mind. Like a ring or something, some kind of abuse ..
He’s vile. And Anna out there having yet another baby with him. That whole family is vile and toxic
Not only is he a creep, but he’s into drugs too? He’s high as shit in that mugshot.
But Jill is such a problem because of her wearing pants…
The Duggar’s statement about them being stunned they have to go through this all again makes me think it was some sort of sex crime or crime against a child. Also the part where they want to find out the truth makes me think this is something deeper than money.
I despise the Duggars I hope they all go to jail and the kids are rehomed having that many kids is abusive
Can TLC please pull this garbage family off the network now?
Just in the last week, read article that stated Anna is rejoining the Counting Reality show …. Duggars, worked it so Anna can have income while Josh is in the slammer.
Unreal…TLC is super ethical, they won’t directly hand money to a child molester. They’ll just funnel it to him through his idiot wife?! Ugh, I hope this doesn’t end up being true. We all complain about Amber not being fired and she’s an upstanding citizen compared to this pos.
Explains why they timed the pregnancy announcement-trying to soften the blow.
First of all, he looks high af in the mugshot. Secondly, does anyone have any idea why the marshals would arrest him? Like, what are some things he could’ve done? If the family knew this was coming for a while, I hope they’re helping Anna out. She might be naïve for staying with him but she doesn’t deserve this mess.
I have no experience, so hopefully someone else can weigh in, but homeland security + no bail + his history hints at human trafficking and/or extensive child abuse to me.
that was my first thought as well
I’m not from the US, so I’m not really familiar with the system. But being held with no bail might be because he’s being held for another department and the current department isn’t authorized to set a bond.
This. They wouldn’t hold him without bail if it was only money related. No bail is usually for flight risks and suspects they think prove a danger to society if free. Even some of the idiots that stormed the Capital were granted bail. This is bad, whatever it is.
He’s so gross inside & out.
These people are why I believe in forced sterilization
There are “bad” people in families of 2, families of 3, families of 4, families of 25. What does a man getting arrested have to do with how many siblings he has?
People are allowed to have as many children as they want. It’s no one else’s business.
And I’m an atheist, but I respect people believing in whichever religion they’d like, and the Duggars belong to a religion where most members don’t believe in birth control. Not my business.
If forced sterilization was a thing, Josh Duggar would still have gotten arrested today.
I feel like one day we’re gonna see a headline that Josh od’d and died in a brothel with 10 different drugs in his system and the body was left for days without being discovered, and that he was robbed of all his possessions. He’s such a creep. The whole family is.
It matters because it’s a backward, misogynistic environment. In all fairness, he would probably be a criminal anyway, there’s obviously something organically not right about him. But his parents might not have even noticed because it’s not possible to be aware of what each individual in a crowded house is doing, especially when you turn responsibility for protecting your children over to your…you know…children.
Five bucks says the dude was arrested for money laundering. What a shithead. How humiliating for Anna.
Did I miss something?? What was he arrested for!!
Charge wasn’t released yet
Wow, I was thinking it must be some type of fraud/business/money type thing, but no bail? Yikes. Or is it common to have no bail if it’s a Federal issue?
Child porn… mark my words.
I just figured some kind of fraud/money thing because the raid or investigation or whatever was at the car lot. But I guess if they were looking at his computer and not the business itself then it could still be that. I just had the impression it had something to do with the business.
But the no bail thing does make me lean more the other direction.
But then if the part is true that the Duggars knew this was coming for a month, idk… I wouldn’t think they’d have been given a heads-up if it was as serious as child porn.
Either way we’ll find out eventually – I’m just so curious. The Feds and no bail and all that is wild. I’m so used to everyone getting away with everything like Jenelle and David Eason, that this seems extra intense.
He hasn’t gone before a judge yet. He will do so tomorrow and at that point the judge will set or deny bail.
I hope he drops the soap- he deserves it!
The family is currently working on their speech of lies. As if we’re going to believe anything they say. ??
Best news I’ve heard all day!!! ?
Biggest head….smallest brain.
Justice won’t be done till he’s held legally accountable for molesting girls.
I worry for his children, especially his daughters – he’s hiding in plain sight under a mask of godliness.
Please don’t be child trafficking ….
I worry that it’s something just as bad.
That was among my first thoughts…
He looks sort of high in his mugshot…
Stoned as hell
He looks high in the mugshot. Fat and high.
Yowza, The Ashley, you made my day! It’s always a great day when Josh Duggar is in the slammer! May the Lord KEEP him there! Anna, pack up the kids and RUN!!!
She didn’t run 4 years ago when she was pregnant with baby #5. She certainly will not run now with baby #7. Maybe She’ll get conjugal visits
in 2 years for baby #8.
Derick Dillard letting that call go to voicemail….. Doesn’t want that POS as his first client!
Enjoy your karma!!
Yeah, Derrick is a total turd, but he’s totally kicking back with the popcorn right now.
Hopefully it’s some type of white collar crime and not something involving innocent children or human trafficking. When I saw Homeland Security was involved, I was concerned it might be the latter.
The fact that his family stood by him after the molestation situation makes them total garbage and hopefully anyone that stood by him will lose all of their money and assets.
This shocks no one.
I can’t help but feel sorry for Anna and the kids…
The kids, yes…they are innocent. Anna stay married to an admitted molester, no sympathy there.
Yesss! I agree a thousand percent with Brittany, she’s disgusting for staying!
I think Anna knew about it all along. I think she was “tainted goods” in their little cult circle (maybe she wore a bathing suit that showed her ankle or *gasp* kissed a boy) and she was never going to get anyone else, so they paired her off with the other tainted good and then that’s it.
Yeah but also in context she’s grown up in a cult that has her convinced that she dooms herself and her kids to hell for eternity if she leaves. Brainwashing is real.
Does it list charges? I don’t know how Arkansas works (states are different) but usually when someone is arrested the charges are listed. I mean, it must be pretty serious considering there’s no bail. Don’t forget to post updates!