After months of delays, the Josh Duggar child pornography trial got underway at a federal courthouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Tuesday.
Josh is facing 20 years behind bars if convicted, and many legal experts believe the prosecution has been handed a slam-dunk case.
But the Duggars remain hopeful, and insiders say several members of the family are convinced that Josh will be acquitted on all charges.
Others, however, are far more realistic.
Take Amy Duggar, for example.
Amy, as you probably know, has long enjoyed a reputation as the most rebellious member of the Duggar clan, which usually means that she’s the only one who’s willing to speak out against Jim Bob.
Unlike her famous cousins who have full faith in Josh’s innocence, Amy reportedly believes that Josh is guilty.
While most of the family remained silent as jury selection got underway on Tuesday, Amy addressed the tension surrounding the situation on Instagram.
And while she didn’t go so far as to explicitly state that she thinks or hopes Josh will be convicted, the unexpected content that she posted made her feelings about the situation quite clear.
“Today is a heavy day. This whole week will be. Next week will be too. Until justice is served,” Amy wrote in a somber Instagram Story.
“Vengeance is mine sayeth the lord, I will repay thee,” she added.
From there, Amy shifted the focus from the famous perpetrator to the victims who have been all but forgotten in much of the media’s coverage of this case.
“Please pray for the victims, and for the truth to be revealed,” she wrote.
“Pray that the judge will give the ultimate sentence.”
That last line is the closest that Amy got to saying that she hopes Josh will go to prison for a very, very long time.
She might have kept it somewhat cryptic, but in her own way, she left little doubt as to what sort of outcome she’s hoping for.
We suppose it’s possible that Amy was expressing her hope that the judge will have the final word, rather than the court of public opinion, but we doubt it.
After all, on several occasions in recent months, Amy has made her feelings about the situation quite clear.
She’s slammed the Duggar family as “liars” and stated that she’s often felt the need to “protect” her own child from Jim Bob and company.
And while Amy has declined to comment on the specifics of this week’s trial, it seems she did so out of respect for the victims and not for fear of offending the Duggars.
As for her comments about how “next week” will be heavy too, she might be suggesting that Josh’s trial will go on longer than expected.
But she might also be referring to this month’s other Duggar legal drama.
On December 9, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna Duggar will be in court in connection with Josh’s previous sex scandal.
The sisters — all of whom were molested by Josh as children — are suing the police and sheriff’s departments who released Josh’s criminal records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by In Touch.
The Duggar women claim that the authorities violated their right to privacy by doing so.
All of this is taking place as Jim Bob Duggar campaigns for a seat in the Arkansas State Senate.
Needless to say, the media focus on the more unseemly aspects of life in the Duggar family will be more intense than ever in the weeks to come.
And we’re sure Amy is happy that she distanced herself from the rest of the clan long ago.
