The Duggar family has had a lot on its plate recently, as Jim Bob and Michelle issued a statement, defending themselves after the release of the Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets docuseries, and they’ve allegedly been dealing with money issues amid Josh Duggar’s legal battle. However, another pressing issue has apparently arisen in regards to their oldest child, who is serving a 151-month prison sentence for possession of child pornography, as family members of other inmates at the Texas facility he’s in are saying there’s no air conditioning in some areas, and people have been passing out in the heat wave.
Josh Duggar was arrested in 2021 and he’s been serving his more-than-10-year sentence in FCI Seagoville outside of Dallas, Texas. It’s already been over 100 degrees in that area of the Lone Star State, and with temperatures forecast to go as high as 108 degrees in coming days, there’s a concern about the air-conditioning at the federal prison. Family members told The Sun that many of the buildings don’t have A/C, and those that do run on generators that have been known to get overloaded. An insider reports:
Other loved ones are sharing how inmates are passing out. The electricity keeps going in and out because the generator is overloaded. When it's working, it's relatively cool though.
The Texas heat is no joke, and especially in the dog days of summer, things can get dangerous pretty quickly if precautions aren’t taken. A spokesperson for the FCI Seagoville responded to The Sun’s report, confirming that some housing units there are without air conditioning; however, there are reportedly rooms where inmates can sit in A/C to cool down, there are fans to circulate the air, and ice is available in all housing units.
There’s no word on whether Josh Duggar is in one of the air-conditioned areas or not, but hopefully all of the inmates are being kept safe. In March the former 19 Kids and Counting star spent his 35th birthday in the Solitary Housing Unit, after being caught sneaking in a cell phone, but it’s unknown how long or how often Duggar is in solitary confinement, or whether that area is one of the newer units, which reportedly do have air conditioning.
The facility’s spokesperson also said that while power outages were a problem a few months ago, there has not been any issue lately with generators going out.
Reports of Josh Duggar’s current living conditions come after the release of Amazon Prime Video’s four-part documentary series Shiny Happy People, which examines the controversial teachings of the IBLP, its disgraced founder Bill Gothard and the Duggar family scandals (including Josh’s molestation history). Jill Duggar Dillard — the fourth child of Jim Bob and Michelle, and one of her brother’s victims — participated in the documentary, along with her husband Derick Dillard. Her parents, however, called the series “derogatory and sensationalized.”
We’ll have to see if any of Josh Duggar’s family members have anything to say about the conditions at the Texas prison, but hopefully everyone remains safe in that extreme heat. Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is currently available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription.
