JOSH Duggar is a former television personality best known for his appearance in the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On.
Josh is the eldest child of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar’s 19 children.
The Sun can exclusively report that Josh, 33, has been arrested and jailed in Arkansas on April 29.
The bombshell bust comes just six years after claims he molested five girls as a teen.
The Sun exclusively learned that fired reality star Josh was taken into custody on April 29 in Arkansas.
The incident is related to the 2019 Homeland Security raid on his now-shuttered used car dealership in Springdale, Arkansas, a source claimed.
In November 2019, Homeland Security Investigations conducted an “ongoing federal investigation” at the lot, but no charges were filed against Duggar until now.
A source exclusively told The Sun “the family has known that this has been coming for weeks, and Josh has been preparing himself.
“They 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.
“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.”
The arrest comes shortly after Josh’s wife Anna confirmed she is pregnant with the couple’s seventh child.
On April 23, Anna, 32, shared the news in a new Instagram post, which included a video of her and Josh opening an umbrella as pink confetti flew out as part of the gender reveal.
Anna and the Duggar family previously stood by Josh through his disturbing sex abuse scandal in 2015
Read our Josh Duggar live blog for the latest on his arrest…
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WHY DID FEDERAL AUTHORITIES RAID JOSH’S USED CAR DEALERSHIP?
Josh Duggar’s arrest by federal authorities today is linked to a 2019 raid on his used car dealership in Springdale, Arkansas.
In November 2019, Homeland Security Investigations conducted an “ongoing federal investigation” at the lot, but no charges were filed against Josh- until now.
Josh’s car business, Wholesale Motorcars, in Springdale, Arkansas is listed on Google as “permanently closed.”
No charges against Josh or the business were ever filed.
In 2018, RadarOnline.com reported Josh was found in violation of an ordinance requiring his car business to have a permit.
Josh was allegedly notified of the issue three times before he resolved the problem.
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JOSH DUGGAR DENIES AN ALLEGED ASSAULT WITH PORN STAR
In November 2015, porn star, Ashley Johnston, also known by her stage name Danica Dillon, accused Josh Duggar of sexually assaulting her.
Johnston accused him in a lawsuit and interviews of choking, spitting and calling her “worthless” during rough intercourse. She eventually dropped the lawsuit, with Duggar always denying the allegations.
She alleged that they met in March 2015, at a Philadelphia strip club, where she was then working and that Josh paid her $600 for lap dances before inviting her to his room.
In a exclusive interview with The Sun, Johnston, 33, said she has always told the truth about the alleged assault, which she described as being so intense it felt “like this guy tried to kill me,” according to the lawsuit.
Months before Johnston accused Duggar for sexually assaulting her, news broke that the Duggar had paid a Ashley Madison Account.
The then 27-year-old paid an account on service that assists married people in having affairs.
He admitted to cheating on his wife and to being addicted to porn.
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JOSH REPORTEDLY STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE
Josh has found it hard to keep a stable job, and currently lives with Anna and his six kids in a warehouse on Jim Bob and Michelle’s Arkansas property, The Sun exclusively reported.
A source said: “There’s no sign of him working and he only leaves when he drives the family out in a blue minivan.
“He pulled the short straw with his living arrangements, too. His brother Joseph and his wife Kendra’s log cabin is picturesque and impressive while Josh’s warehouse doesn’t look like the most welcoming of places.”
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JOSH MOVES ON POST SCANDAL
After 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled and Josh Duggar was fired from his position at Christian lobbying group the Family Research Council, the shamed reality star continued to attract negative headlines.
Just three months after the 2015 report surfaced of his alleged molestation of five girls, it surfaced that Josh was using adultery dating service Ashley Madison.
Josh said in a statement: “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the Internet and this has become a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife.”
Soon after, porn star Danica Dillon, whose real name is Ashley Johnston, claimed he assaulted her during a sexual encounter.
In a 2020 interview with The Sun, Ashley, 33, described the alleged incident as being so intense “it felt like this guy tried to kill me.”
Ashley, now a married mom of four, said Josh “knows what he’s done and has to live with his demons.”
Josh has always denied the alleged assault.
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JIM BOB AND MICHELLE DUGGAR COME CLEAN ABOUT JOSH’S ACTIONS
Patriarch and Matriarch of the 19 Duggar kids, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, came clean in 2015 when the scandal first broke of their eldest son Josh allegedly molesting several girls as a teen.
When an InTouch report broke the scandal, the two parents went to hte police to discuss their son’s actions.
“Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives,” they said in 2015.
“When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong.
“That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before. Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God.”
Outside of the show getting canceled, Josh was fired from his position at Christian lobbying group the Family Research Council.
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JOSH DUGGAR’S WIFE ANNA PREGNANT WITH SEVENTH CHILD AS JOSH IS ARRESTED
While the whole Duggar family is praying for Josh’s speedy release from bars, the arrest could not have come at a worse time for his wife Anna, who is pregnant with the couple’s seventh child.
Anna, 32, and the Duggar family previously stood by Josh through his disturbing sex abuse scandal in 2015.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, Josh’s parents, apparently came clean to the police in 2015 and said their eldest son fondled the breasts and genitals of young girls while they were asleep in the Duggar family home back in 2002.
Their show, 19 Kids & Counting, was canceled after the scandal broke.
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DUGGAR FAMILY IS PRAYING FOR JOSH FOLLOWING ARREST
A source exclusively told The Sun that Josh Duggar and his family has known about federal authorities’ plans to arrest him and they have been praying for his safety.
“Family members are extremely concerned by what is happening and they just want to find out the truth,” the source said.
“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.”
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JOSH DUGGAR HAS BEEN ARRESTED BY FEDERAL AGENTS
The Sun can exclusively report former reality star Josh Duggar has been arrested and jailed by federal agents.
Six years after the shamed star was found to have molested five girls as a teen, a source said Duggar and his family has known of the arrest for some time and were preparing themselves.
“The family has known that this has been coming for weeks, and Josh has been preparing himself,” the source said of Josh, his father Jim Bob, and the family’s 19 siblings.
“They are praying together for Josh and Anna, who is standing by her husband as she always has.”