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Joshua James "Josh" Duggar (born March 3, 1988) is an American television personality known for his appearances on Discovery Health Channel and TLC as part of the reality television show 19 Kids and Counting, which focuses on the life of the Duggar family. Duggar was formerly executive director of FRC Action, the non-profit political action and lobbying arm of the Family Research Council. Josh is the eldest of Michelle (Ruark) and Jim Bob Duggar's 19 children.

On May 21, 2015, Duggar resigned his position at the Family Research Council, after it had become public that during the time he was 14 and 15 years old, he molested five girls, including four of his sisters. The abuse consisted of fondling their breast and genital regions while they were asleep and sometimes while awake without permission, according to a police report obtained by In Touch Weekly magazine. TLC suspended airing the reality series 19 Kids and Counting on May 22, 2015 and cancelled the series on July 16, 2015.

Early life

Duggar was raised a conservative Christian in Tontitown, Arkansas, and is the eldest of 19 siblings. He was homeschooled, passing the state's test for a general equivalency diploma (GED) at the age of 16.

Career

Reality television personality

Duggar appeared on the reality series 19 Kids and Counting which aired on TLC. He also appeared on earlier shows about his family shown on Discovery Health, starting in 2005, when Duggar was 17 years old. An episode titled A Very Duggar Wedding aired on January 25, 2009 about Duggar's wedding. It included the wedding planning, preparation, rehearsal, as well the wedding ceremony and reception. Duggar and his wife Anna said they saved their first kiss for their wedding day. Multiple episodes document Duggar's children including: GrandDuggar's First Birthday (aired December 7, 2010) where Duggar celebrates his daughter Mackynzie's first birthday as well as announcing they're expecting their second child; First Grandson (aired June 19, 2011) in which Duggar and his wife introduce their second child, Michael James to the world; and GrandDuggar Makes 3! (aired June 16, 2013) a Father's Day special introducing Duggar's third baby Marcus Anthony. A special titled Josh & Anna: Our Story aired on October 22, 2013, which reviewed the couples' first five years of marriage. Duggar and his wife revealed they are expecting their fourth child and that the baby is a girl on an episode titled Anna's Having A..., which aired May 12, 2015.

Political activity

Duggar's father, Jim Bob, was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for two terms while Josh was a teenager. Duggar has also been active in conservative politics. In 2007, while running a car dealership he worked as a part-time political consultant under the business name Strategic Political Services. In 2008, he worked on the Republican presidential primary campaign of Mike Huckabee, and in 2012 he toured with the presidential campaign of Republican Rick Santorum where Josh spoke at rallies in support of Santorum.

From June 2013 to May 2015, Duggar was the Executive Director of FRC Action, the non-profit political action and lobbying arm of the Family Research Council. He said at the time that his role would be "engaging the grassroots and taking the message of faith, family and freedom all across America". Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, said that by hiring Duggar they hoped to appeal to more young people and tap into the popularity of his TV series and said "The big part of Josh’s focus is going to be building our grass-roots across the country". In his role with FRC Action he has associated with many high profile Republicans, including potential 2016 presidential candidates including Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, and Rick Perry.

Duggar advocates for "family-centered" conservative Christian Right viewpoints, including opposition to abortion, divorce, and gay marriage. He has described his extended family as the "epitome of conservative values". The Family Research Council, which he worked for, has been labeled as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center; SPLC says they were designated as such due to their publication of "anti-gay propaganda". Duggar was described as an "anti-gay activist" by GLAAD.

Molestation controversy

On May 21, 2015, the magazine In Touch Weekly reported that Josh's father, Jim Bob Duggar had told the Arkansas State Police that in 2002–03, Josh had molested five underage girls. Josh was 14 and 15 years old at the time.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). He and his wife have four children: Mackynzie Renée (b. 2009), Michael James (b. 2011), Marcus Anthony (b. 2013), and Meredith Grace (b. 2015). They lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they owned a used car dealership, from 2008 until 2013. In 2013, they moved to Washington D.C. where Duggar accepted a job as executive director of FRC Action, a lobbying arm of the Family Research Council. They moved back to Arkansas after Josh resigned in May 2015. As with Duggar's parents, who have 19 children and avoid birth control, Josh and Anna have stated that they plan to have as many children as "God gives them."

References

1. "Family Scrapbook- The Boys". The Duggar Family (official website). Retrieved May 23, 2015.
2. "Duggar Family - Encyclopedia of Arkansas". encyclopediaofarkansas.net.
3. "WATCH: Duggar Sisters Defend Josh in 'Kelly File' Exclusive". Fox News. June 5, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
4. Durando, Jessica (June 6, 2015). "Josh Duggar's sisters open up about abuse". USA Today. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
5. Ryder, Taryn (May 21, 2015). "Josh Duggar Responds to Child Molestation Allegations". Yahoo! Celebrity. Retrieved May 24, 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. "Amid Josh Duggar Molestation Scandal, Petitions Call for TLC to Cancel '19 Kids and Counting'". KTLA-TV. Tribune Media. May 25, 2015.
7. "Why Josh Duggar's Past Will Hurt Social Conservatives". TIME. May 22, 2015.
8. Shipps, Joan (May 21, 2015). "Josh Duggar 'extremely sorry' amid claim he molested young girls as a teen". Raw Story. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
9. Cite error: The named reference molestation-wapo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. "Josh Duggar Accused of Molesting Underage Girls". PopSugar. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
11. Lilit Marcus (March 14, 2013). "Josh Duggar Says He's Moving to DC to Work in Politics (Updated!)". Patheos blog. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
12. Hamilton, Arnold (December 19, 2005). "For Arkansas family, 18's not a crowd". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
13. A Very Duggar Wedding, tlc.discovery.com; accessed May 22, 2015.
14. Norman, Tony (May 26, 2015). "Duggar's Life is a troubling reality". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
15. Sex Reveal of Josh and Anna's 4th child - People - 03/02/2015
16. "Duggars on Politics and Family". Duggar Family.
17. ^ Josh Tager. "Inside '19 Kids and Counting' Son Josh Duggar's Secret Life As A Conservative Lobbyist". ET Online.
18. ^ Faith & Liberty Talk Show. "Josh Duggar on growing up in a popular television family and his role at Family Research Council Action". Ohio Christian University.
19. Adam Aigner-Treworgy. "Eldest daughter and reality show star stand in for Santorum".
20. "Josh Duggar apologizes amid molestation allegations: 'I acted inexcusably'". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
21. Leslie Larson. "'19 Kids and Counting' star Josh Duggar accepts lobbying job with conservative group Family Research Council". New York Daily News.
22. ^ "Josh Duggar moving to D.C. for political job with Family Research Council". The Washington Post.
23. ^ Elizabeth Dias. "Why Josh Duggar's Past Will Hurt Social Conservatives". TIME.
24. Dutton, Nick (August 18, 2012). "Shooting sparks controversy over 'hate' designation for conservative group". wtvr.com. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
25. Evelyn Schlatter. "18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda". SPLC. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
26. Katy Butler. "Josh Duggar takes a job with anti-gay Family Research Council". GLAAD.
27. Josh Duggar sex scandal reported, intouchweekly.com; accessed May 22, 2015.
28. A Very Duggar Wedding, tlc.discovery.com; accessed May 22, 2015.
29. Profile, people.com; accessed May 22, 2015.
30. "Josh & Anna Duggar: 'We're Going To Have 25 Kids!' Um, Seriously?". Hollywood Life.

External links

• Josh and Anna's official website
• Duggar Family official website
• TLC's 19 Kids and Counting website

Template:Persondata

• 1988 births
• American television personalities
• Arkansas Republicans
• Baptists from the United States
• Child sexual abuse
• Incestual abuse
• Living people
• Participants in American reality television series
• People from Oxon Hill, Maryland
• People from Washington County, Arkansas