'We need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life': Reality star Jim Bob Duggar announces run for Arkansas State Senate months after son Joshua was arrested on child pornography possession charges
Reality star Jim Bob Duggar, of the embattled TLC show '19 Kids and Counting,' has announced his candidacy for Arkansas State Senate, despite news of his son Joshua Duggar being arrested on federal charges of child pornography possession earlier this year.
Duggar, who had previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002, revealed the news on the Duggar family's official Facebook page on Friday.
'I'm running for State Senate because these are unprecedented times in our nation,' Duggar said in his announcement for his candidacy for District 7, which includes Springdale, Johnson, Goshen and Elkins in eastern Washington County.
'Out-of-control bureaucrats have put politics over common-sense policy with government mandates that force people to choose between earning a paycheck and violating their personal rights and beliefs. The foundational principles that have made our nation great are under threat like never before.'
Reality star Jim Bob Duggar, pictured right with wife Anna, left, of the embattled TLC show '19 Kids and Counting,' announced his candidacy for Arkansas State Senate
Duggar, who had previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002, revealed the news on the Duggar family's official Facebook page, pictured, on Friday
Pictured: Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, heads of the massive Duggar family, which includes 20 children and 22 grandchildren
Duggar announces he will run for Arkansas State Senate District 7, which includes Springdale, Johnson, Goshen and Elkins in eastern Washington County, pictured
'Now more than ever, we need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life,' he added.
'It's time for conservatives to demand courageous leadership that puts Arkansas families, jobs, and our constitutional liberties first.'
The massive Duggar family, which includes 20 children and 22 grandchildren, have been in the news for all the wrong reasons since the reality show debuted back in 2008.
The show was cancelled in 2015 after allegations came to light of Duggar's oldest son, Joshua, 33, of sexually assaulting five young girls as a teen - four of them his sisters - in a 2006 police report obtained by In Touch magazine.
The Duggar family in 2014. Their show, 19 Kids & Counting, ran from 2008 until 2015
This undated photo provided by the Washington County Jail shows Joshua Duggar mugshot photo after his arrest on child pornography charges
Josh Duggar, pictured, being released from jail five months ago after making bail on federal child pornography possession charges
Joshua Duggar, pictured, was placed on the Arkansas sex offender registry for molesting his sisters in the years before his arrest on child pornography charges this April
While he was never officially charged for those allegations, Joshua Duggar was arrested earlier this year on federal child pornography possession charges, of which he pleaded not guilty.
Joshua Duggar was placed on the Arkansas sex offender registry for molesting his sisters in the years before his arrest on child pornography charges this April, according to court documents.
The papers, filed August 30, claim 'Joshua Duggar was placed on the sex offender registry and a legal proceeding was undertaken to remove Joshua Duggar from the sex offender registry.'
The claims were made by the city of Springdale and other defendants - referred to as the Springdale Defendants - in response to a lawsuit filed against them in 2017 by Duggar's four sisters.
Joshua Duggar, right, was seen for the first time with his wife, Anna, left, in late September since he was released from prison on bail almost five months ago
Duggar and his wife Anna share kids Mackynzie, Marcus, Meredith, Mason and Maryella together. Anna is set to give birth to their seventh child late next month
Two of Duggar's sisters - Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald - later spoke out to reveal they were victims but that they had forgiven their brother.
Jill, Jessa, and their two sisters Jinger Vuolo and Joy Duggar filed a lawsuit in an Arkansas federal court in 2017 against the City of Springdale, claiming the release of the information to In Touch breached their privacy and caused 'extreme mental anguish and emotional distress.'
Joshua Duggar was seen for the first time with his wife, Anna, in late September since he was released from prison on bail almost five months ago, and has spent the intervening months living at a property in rural Arkansas.
On September 27, the former '19 Kids and Counting' star was back in the public eye as he attended an evidentiary hearing at a Fayetteville court ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to commence November 3.
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