How Far Is Josh Duggar’s New Prison From Springdale, Arkansas?
Joshua Duggar, the disgraced former reality TV star, is still serving 151 months behind bars for receiving and possessing child pornography. Nothing has changed about his sentence or his conviction. What has changed is where he is serving time. Josh has landed in his fourth federal prison in three months, and this one is further from home than any that have come before it. So, how far is he from his home state? Far enough that family visits aren’t easily maneuvered.
The Latest Move
According to Bureau of Prisons records, the former 19 Kids and Counting star is now being held at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution in Lisbon, Ohio. The low-security facility is located roughly 90 miles southeast of Cleveland. The placement follows a string of rapid movements after the disgraced TV star spent the first several years of his sentence at FCI Seagoville.
The Bureau of Prisons has declined to explain the reasoning behind any of Duggar’s recent moves, citing privacy and security policy. Duggar’s attorney, Beau Brindley, has publicly pushed back on the transfers, calling them “punitive” and tying them to a dispute over the prison mail system during his most recent, unsuccessful appeal.
How Far Is Josh Duggar’s prison From His Family Now?
Josh Duggar’s latest prison transfer appears to pose a significant issue for his wife’s ability to visit him. The more he is transferred, the further he seems to get from the family’s Springdale, Arkansas, compound. His current assignment, in Lisbon, Ohio, is the farthest he’s been from Arkansas since his arrest.
Ahead of sentencing, the father of seven was held at the Washington County Detention Center, which is just a few miles from the family’s home. Due to COVID-19 restrictions during his stay, inmates were not allowed physical visitors. They could have video calls, though, and Josh took liberal use of that system while he was there.
He was then transferred to FCI Seagoville shortly after his sentencing. Josh was housed in the facility for nearly four years, and while it was a six-hour drive from Springdale, Anna Duggar’s sister, Priscilla Waller, lived within a couple of hours of the federal prison. It is unclear how often Anna visited, but several Duggar family members have been spotted close to the institution.
In May 2026, Josh was suddenly transferred to the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The move was never explained, though he remained within the same general driving distance from his home base. The transfer only lasted a month. In late June, he was moved to FTC Oklahoma City, which actually put him closer to his home base than ever before. Oklahoma City is just 220 miles, or roughly three hours, from Springdale.
FTC Oklahoma City is not a long-term housing unit, though. It is used as a transfer station, with inmates moving in and out of the facility quickly. Within days, he moved again, this time to FCI Elkton. The Ohio facility is much further from his home base, with a drive time of about 14 hours.
What happens next?
For now, the Lisbon, Ohio, facility appears to be where he’ll serve a meaningful portion of his sentence. That, of course, is always subject to change, though. It remains unclear why he was moved in the first place. Josh’s release date is still listed for February 2033.
While Josh’s lawyer, Beau Brindley, has been crying foul, the convicted felon has not spoken out personally. The Duggar family has not issued a statement, either.
