Anna Duggar is standing by her husband Josh Duggar amid his child pornography charges, as the couple was seen holding hands while leaving an Arkansas courthouse on Monday, Sept. 27.
The appearance marked the first time they have been spotted in public since Josh was arrested in April on charges of receiving and possessing material that depicted children being sexually abused.
Anna, who revealed she's expecting a baby girl just days before Josh's arrest, showed off her growing baby bump in a flowing blush pink dress for their court date.
Josh, 33, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bail in May. The former 19 Kids and Counting star and his lawyer have made five motions to dismiss or suppress evidence in the case.
However, Josh's team faced a setback after a judge denied four of the motions on Sept. 27, including motions to suppress statements and photographs of Josh's hands and feet while in custody, according to the minutes obtained by E! News.
The judge also denied motions to dismiss for the government's failure to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence and for violations of appointments, after Josh's attorney argued that two acting secretaries of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were not properly appointed. On Oct. 18, a judge also denied his Motion to Suppress Evidence and Request for a Franks Hearing.
According to the local 40/29 ABC News, the discussion in court centered around statements Josh allegedly made to federal agents while they executed a search warrant in November 2019. They seized cell phones and computers, with one agent testifying that child pornography was found on a desktop. Per testimony, Josh told agents at the time that he wanted to speak with his attorney but still proceeded to talk with agents. The reality star's attorney took issue with the statements Josh allegedly made.
"After consenting to the recording but before [the agent] could initiate the recording device, the defendant then turned in his seat and asked, 'What is this about? Has somebody been downloading child pornography?'" reads the government's response to Josh's motion, obtained by E! News.
A transcript of the recording shows that agents told Josh they had a search warrant. They explained it was not an arrest warrant, saying, "so you are free to leave at any time."
"Duggar later indicated that, to his knowledge, nothing was downloaded to or uploaded from any computer on site that would raise a 'red flag' for the investigation," the document states. "He also stated he was not 'denying guilt,' but was not going to say anything to incriminate himself."
According to the government's response, "When asked directly if he had seen images of child pornography involving children five (5) to ten (10) years of age, Duggar stated 'I'd rather not answer that question.'"
Per 40/29 news, the judge ruled that Josh was not in custody when speaking with officers. Therefore, he could have refused to answer questions, but voluntarily decided to respond to some anyway.
Anna has remained quiet on social media since his arrest, with her last Instagram post dated April 24.
The Duggars' lawyer did not respond to request for comment.