Josh Duggar’s prison phone minutes cut down by nearly half and he will now be charged fee to speak to wife Anna and kids

JOSH Duggar’s prison phone minutes have been cut down by nearly half as he will now be charged a fee to speak to his loved ones because of a policy change across all federal prisons. 

Josh, 36, is serving a 151-month prison sentence at FCI Seagoville in Dallas, Texas, nearly 350 miles away from his wife Anna, 36, and their seven children in Springdale, Arkansas. 

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal the Federal Bureau of Prisons updated its phone policy on January 1, 2025, as inmates will have less time to speak to their families and loved ones. 

“The prison is cutting phone minutes from 500 minutes a month to 300 minutes a month,” a family member of a FCI Seagoville inmate told The U.S. Sun. “We’ll need to pay for all 300 minutes.”

Inmates will need to pay six cents per minute, an amount the family member says is a “money-gouging move.”

“This puts an additional financial burden on people who are already struggling,” the insider said. “Half of prisoner’s families struggle to maintain food and housing, much less extras.

“I think this will be really bad for some families.”

Free minutes were implemented during the Covid pandemic since visitation was suspended during the lockdown. 

The policy update on the BOP website read, “Recently, due to budget constraints and in an effort to incentivize programming participation, the FBOP decided to change its approach and will provide free phone calls only to those who are on the waitlist for, or are participating in, an [Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction] program."

The policy change is intended to “reallocate resources to other critical needs, including programming, staffing, and contraband interdiction.”

The BOP continued, “Effective January 1, 2025, new phone rates set by the FCC go into effect that reduce the call rates for AICs to $0.06 per minute for all audio communications and $0.16 per minute for video communications.”

JOSH'S REALITY

While 200 minutes less a month will affect Josh speaking to his family, the cost of the calls likely won’t. 

Josh resurfaced on November 22 when he was spotted walking the track of the prison in exclusive photos obtained by The U.S. Sun. 

In the photos, Josh wore sunglasses and Under Armour sneakers, which could range from $65 to $120. 

The U.S. Sun could confirm the items are not available for purchase in the prison commissary, as Josh would have had to place a special order, also known as an SPO for the "luxury" items.  

“Inmates could make special orders for sunglasses or sneakers from specific vendors,” a prison source exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

“Families or loved ones have to send in money for the order because it has to be cash.”

SPECIAL PRIVILEGES

The U.S. Sun previously reported Josh even has privileges behind bars, as he lives in a renovated dorm with special amenities

“They finished painting the walls and getting flowers put into Dorm 6, where Josh lives. It's been turned into an honors dorm,” a source previously claimed to The U.S. Sun.

“They get special privileges and building updates because it’s an honors dorm. There are washers and dryers, microwaves, and more.

“They're trying to create a dorm of model inmates.”

Josh does not have the qualifications to live in the dorm, as the insider believes he may be getting "special treatment" because of his celebrity status.

“Josh apparently doesn't work, but he is getting a degree, and they're counting that as an exception so he can stay.

“According to the rules, he would be disqualified from living there because of his SHU time a couple of years ago, but they've decided to waive that for him.”

In February 2023, Josh was thrown into FCI Seagoville’s Special Housing Unit, better known as solitary confinement, when he snuck a cell phone into the prison.

He was released from the SHU in March of that same year. 

ANNA'S LIFE

Josh remains married to his wife Anna.

She has been seen visiting the prison with their seven young children Mackynzie, 15, Michael, 13, Marcus, 11, Meredith, 9, Mason, 7, Maryella, 5, and Madyson, 3.

The U.S. Sun obtained exclusive photos of Anna for the first time in years appearing solemn at a community event on December 10.

Anna wore a beige and brown sweater with blue jeans for the outing.

She seemed downcast while walking to her car with one of her children, who was not pictured. 

Then, The U.S. Sun obtained photos of Anna days later appearing in better spirits with friends. 

In the photos, Anna smiled as she walked from her car to a local community event on December 12. 

Anna wore a black silk shirt and tight blue jeans, and had her brunette hair curled for the outing. 

A source told The U.S. Sun, “She went to the event with some of her children. 

“She looked like she was having a great time. She was smiling and joking around with a friend.”

In a video obtained by The U.S. Sun, Anna could be seen walking with her daughter and laughing with a friend.

Anna wore her wedding ring, showing her continued support of her husband despite his imprisonment.  

Anna still lives in the warehouse on her in-laws' compound.

She resided there with Josh and their seven children before his April 2021 arrest on child pornography charges. 

Anna has turned to dog breeding to provide for her family.

She filed a business license for Golden Grove Pups, LLC in May 2024. 

Social media pages, which The U.S. Sun can confirm are Anna’s company, reveal she breeds golden retrievers. 

JOSH'S CRIMES

Josh was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography in April 2021. 

After a nearly two-week trial in Arkansas, a jury found him guilty of all charges.

Josh was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison in May and was transferred to FCI Seagoville in June 2022.

His legal team filed an appeal to overturn the conviction and have a new trial in October 2022. 

The appeal was denied in November 2023 and the Supreme Court officially denied the conviction appeal in 2024.