01x03 - Under Authority

[bunniefuu]

[somber theme music plays]

[Megyn Kelly off screen] After we
interviewed Jim Bob and Michelle,

two of their daughters sat down with us.

The Megyn Kelly thing, I don't
really like to even talk about it

because it's not something
that I'm proud of.

I look back and I think, you know,
my parents did such an amazing job.

If I hadn't felt obligated to like one,
do it for like the sake of the show,

and two, do it for like
the sake of my parents,

I wouldn't have done it.

[intense theme music]

It breaks my heart to think about the
girls, and how they've been treated.

For my family, with filming commitments,
we knew there were expectations.

There was definitely an awareness

that they assumed that
they were gonna be able

to continue filming with us,
and it wasn't gonna stop right after.

Yes, we were taken advantage of.

[Jim Bob] Really, it's not that invasive,
and our children have gotten to the point

where they just kind
of ignore the cameras,

and we really
feel like this is a ministry

that God has opened up
through the television show.

Whatever we go into oughta
be full-time Christian work,

because whatever we do
oughta be done for the Lord.

Growing up in that world,
you have to obey, obey, obey, obey.

It's a lot of hard
work, but it's worth it.

There was a core teaching
of IBLP's servanthood

where you're taught to serve.

The idea of signing a contract

to agree to a specific set of rules
or behaviors was very common.

- [dramatic theme music plays]
- [Floyd] And it never ended.

Fundamentalism, it exploits people
who have no other options,

and then you have the people
who see the potential of that

and want to exploit it more.

People in Gothard's sphere
need to be held accountable

for how many children have been
abused as a result of that.

It makes me wonder if more will come out,
more secrets will come out...

...and how many families are suffering

behind closed doors
that no one knows about.

[haunting choral theme music music]

[music fades]

Now to the Duggar family...

Speaking out since being
rocked by a series of scandals.

Several family members

are speaking out in TLC's new show,
Jill & Jessa: Counting On.

Everybody makes their own decisions, and
everybody makes their own choices,

but they're not the only ones
that suffer the consequences.

I don't think there's any way
any of us would've known

that my brother was
living such a secret life.

19 Kids and Counting was canceled,
and the spinoff show,

Counting On, took its place
with a focus on the girls.

We will come out of this fire
stronger, as a family unit.

[Tia] I look at that kind of a thing as
just further exploitation of the girls.

They now are responsible
for being the breadwinners,

keeping the show going.

They're doing this on the back
of their own abuse stories.

You've already worked through that,
you've already dealt with it,

and you've already moved on,

and you don't want that rubbed
in your face all the time...

[Tia] And at some point you're like,
when is this crap gonna stop?

How long of a rope does Jim Bob have?

I could probably jump
this fence if I had to.

He doesn't look too friendly.

The show really tries hard to portray
Jim Bob as kind of a lovable lug.

We never see him
like yelling at anybody,

or raising his voice,
or anything like that.

And I think this is designed
to kind of diffuse our understanding

of the power that he really
possesses in this family.

[gong crashes]

[male narrator] In a land far, far away
in the kingdom called Arkansas,

there was a shogun named Jim Bob.

Shogun Jim Bob also had
a group of lovely maidens

who are, by far,
the fairest in the land.

In 19 Kids and Counting, literally,
we see Jim Bob handpicking the man

who he thinks
should be Jill's husband.

Did Mr. Duggar ever grill you guys

about your financial
situation before marriage?

It's on the 45 page application.

Jim Bob made you guys fill
out questionnaires that were...

- He is not kidding, yes.
- [sister] Yes, they did.

[intense theme music plays]

We're from the same area
in northwest Arkansas,

but growing up, never met each other.

And I was about to go to Nepal,
and had actually contacted Jim Bob

about being a prayer partner of mine.

Knowing that someone's praying
for you is encouraging.

So we developed a
relationship, and then he said,

well my daughter Jill,
here's her number.

He also knew that I was
having two dates coming up

with two friends trying to set me up,

so he was trying to get his
guy in there first, and he won.

[both laugh]

If it's all right with you...

I'm itching to start an
official courtship, so.

- [both chuckle]
- So?

Would you be
interesting in courting me?

- Yeah, that would be awesome.
- Yeah?

[gentle music plays]

Courtship has to be understood
in terms of patriarchal authority.

It's about sexual purity, but more
than that, it's about control.

When God worked out
the ideal society,

one of the things in that ideal society
was that the father was responsible

for the purity of the daughter
up to the point of marriage.

[somber theme music plays]

[Kristin]
It's about a father controlling

his daughter's sexuality,
and controlling his children's future.

You may kiss the bride.

[Derick]
You had no choice in the fact

that 4.4 million people
are watching your wedding.

[Jill] It was the highest rated show at
that time that TLC had ever had.

[tense music]

The day before we got
married, I signed a contract.

I just saw the signature page.

It was like on the end of
the kitchen table, like hey,

we just need you guys to sign these.
Like, everybody was signing 'em.

We were literally running
through the kitchen,

and it was like whoever you
could grab on the way through,

like I didn't know what it was for.

[Producer]
Who put it in front of you?

My dad.

[suspenseful theme music plays]

What we found out later was that
it was a commitment of your life

- for the next five years to the show.
- They had their negotiations,

they had their business
meetings, it just wasn't with us.

[Derick] We were just told
when to be there what was going on,

what we needed to do.

We had taken a couple pregnancy tests
earlier, and we're expecting.

- [all gasping]
- [all laughing]

So, 30 days into your marriage,
you find out you're, actually-

Tomorrow's our one month anniversary.

[Jill]
So a few weeks out from the birth,

the production company, they're like, hey,
so we're thinking about the birth.

Are you good with us being, just like
one person there, like early labor?

And I was like, well actually,

we don't want you guys there at all.
And they're like, like at all?

- And they're shocked, like what?
- Whoa.

[yelling]

[Derick] You didn't wanna go through
what Anna went through.

We're having a baby
right here in the bathroom.

[Michelle]
Here's your baby, here's your baby.

Oh, thank you Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus.

I knew for sure, I was like
nobody's in my delivery room.

Like, nobody, and nobody's
there for the labor watching me.

I don't want any of that.

It is 3:43 in the morning,
and my water broke.

[Derick] We basically lost,
and they're gonna get what they want.

[Jill] They gave us cameras, you know,
and they were like, you guys sh**t.

We've been laboring for a
couple days now, it's Monday.

- [Jill] We did diary cams.
- [Derick] Oh yeah, on the tripod.

[Jill] We did a lot of work.

So they still got, you know, the footage.

[suspenseful theme music plays]

The women and girls in this family,
they are really the draw of that show.

When they have more babies,

that's how they get a
lot of their viewership,

which is actually really
similar to the Kardashians.

[Kris Jenner] Oh my gosh.

But the difference
is that the Kardashians

are getting remuneration
for their participation in the show.

[Jessa] Oh, this is painful.

The Duggar women are doing the labor,
literally doing the labor,

but they're really being
shut out of who has the money

and who has the power.

- [upbeat theme music plays]
- After Israel's birth,

we asked TLC to pay us
enough just to cover

what our out of pocket costs were for
health insurance for Israel's birth.

[Derick]
They said they paid the family.

Paid the family means we don't
get anything, at that point.

And they said, well we paid your dad,
so take it up with him.

[intense theme music plays]

19 Kids and Counting was
a juggernaut for that network,

so it's not like the money wasn't there.

It is normal for the
father to take all the money,

because the wife doesn't get it,
the children don't get it.

They're under their father's authority,
so of course he has it.

[male producer] In the whole
run of your time being a star,

did you ever get a distribution?

Mm-mm, no,
I never received any payout.

No check, no cash, no nothing.

For 7 and a half years of my adult
life, I was never paid.

[dramatic music fades]

[saw buzzing]

[machine sounds]

- [hammer tapping]
- [gentle theme music plays]

[Michelle] I'm just amazed at what can
get done with a group of children

that are willing to work, and every
one of those children are out there

sweating and working, and some of the
hardest working people you will ever meet.

It was expected that you would serve
for the benefit of serving alone.

[Bill voice over] And there are many,
many ministry opportunities

that are out there for
your sons and daughters,

and we want you to avail yourself...

These families, they had loving parents
who wanted the best for their kids,

but who still believed
my son, my daughter

can go work at any of
the different programs

that's offered under
this giant IBLP umbrella.

[Chad] The programs that you could
participate in range from a week or two,

like a summer camp,
all the way to several months,

to several years if you were working
in the training centers.

At the training centers, it's usually
kids in their late teens, early twenties,

who would be going to college,
but have basically been convinced

that college is a useless
waste of humanism brainwashing.

What the parents didn't realize is what
they were signing their kid up to

were horribly long hours, where they
would be working 15, 16 hours a day.

Bill Gothard's like hey, have your kids
join my homeschool program,

and then afterwards, send
them to work for me for free.

When Josh was away at the IBLP facility,
they were doing construction work there.

Yeah, that was one of his punishments.

We were expected to help with the
conferences, the work to set up...

...tear down. Entire civic centers
would be transformed

into these IBLP oases with the
red carpets, and the potted plants.

Gothard loved some potted plants.

This was manual labor being
performed by children,

and this was not an uncommon thing.
This was everywhere.

It is almost impossible to
describe what IBLP looks like.

It's in every home,
but there's a headquarters,

and then there's all the training centers
all over the place, and it got bigger,

and bigger, bigger, more
and more and more programs.

So there's like one training
center for Character First,

and then there's one for Excel,
and then there's one for Commit,

and there's one for Telos,
and there's one for Alert,

and there's one for Verity,
and Sound Foundations,

and all these different
branches that they have,

and each one functions a different way,
and they're everywhere.

It's super confusing.

Bill Gothard loves acronyms.

There's IBLP,
the Institute of Basic Life Principles.

There's ATI,
the Advanced Training Institute.

There's EQUIP, which I don't
remember what it stands for.

There's Commit, Excel, Alert,

and I think that they're
a way of confusing people.

So you know, Alert sounds really cool.

A militia of homeschooled
boys sounds a little scarier.

- All unit 63!
- Hoorah!

[Chad] Alert is Gothard's
paramilitary organization,

very deeply steeped in IBLP'S
teachings on authority.

[male narrator through recording]
Our God is a God of order.

He will continue to guide and control
all that He has planned for our future.

[Heather] I don't think
our parents realized how intense it was,

or that anything terrible was
happening at these places.

They controlled every
single thing that we did.

If you were in trouble, they would lock
you in the prayer room

for hours, up to days, up to weeks.

It was just an empty hotel
room with no furniture,

and they would give you a Bible

until they thought you were
appropriately repentant,

and that was wildly up to
other kids, team leaders.

[male narrator] When the
team leader raises three fingers,

the children know that
it is time to smile.

[Lara] My worst stay there,

my team leader did not like
the shoes that I had worn.

They had a bit of a heel on them,
and that wasn't against the rules,

but she personally
just didn't like it,

and thought it was sinful
and distracting to the men.

And by a bit of a heel, I mean.

I was in the prayer room
for four days, I think.

I was 16.
It was just a nightmare, yeah.

Every two weeks we would go to Walmart.
I bought a box of tampons.

When you get back, they go through
your stuff, and they took them instantly,

and I couldn't have them anymore. They
were like, these are a form of pleasure.

And I got locked in my room, because
I took my own virginity with them,

and like robbed my husband of the right
to break my hymen, you know?

So they took my devil sticks.

[Floyd]
You'd go through these sessions

where they would grill
you on what you did wrong,

and how you could do it better,

and over and over,
be forced to confess.

Shame was a tool that really
kept all of us in line.

I feel like shame, uh, was k*lling me.

At the Oklahoma City Training Center,
they sealed the windows shut

so that we couldn't go out on the ledge,
and attempt to commit suicide.

One day, I see my housemate
with a big knife to her throat.

She's like, the Bible
says that it is better

to put a knife to your throat
than to be a glutton.

Wait, what, what? This Bible verse
brought you to this place?

They worried about us becoming the best
godly females for our husbands.

So it was about, you know,
this maintaining of your weight.

We had people right in front of us
that needed the biggest help,

and all we ever did was
throw prayer at them.

We were all brainwashed by Bill.

Mr. Gothard lived everywhere.

He would visit all of the training
centers, just all of the time.

Gothard flitted about the country,
and really the world, like a celebrity.

[people chattering]

Mr. Gothard had always
projected this image

that he only took a very small portion
of money, he drove a very old car.

I found out that the entire Gothard family
was living incredibly extravagantly

off of the Institute's money.

He came across as authentic, but IBLP
is modeling the exact opposite

of everything that it claims to represent.

Instead of simplicity,
you're gonna see planes,

you're gonna see gold-plated hallways.

My family struggled to pay for this
seminar because it was very expensive,

and the homeschool program
was very expensive.

Bill Gothard used IBLP
families to grow the Institute

into this huge organization with
real political power, and connections.

- [intense theme music plays]
- At the various training centers,

a lot of the things that they were doing
was election campaigning

for candidates that Bill Gothard
had an interest in seeing elected.

He was connecting with politicians.

Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin,
Sonny Perdue, Rick Perry.

IBLP's biggest donor is David Green,
who is the CEO of Hobby Lobby.

Obviously in our culture, you've seen
a lot of deterioration of character,

and so it should be obvious
to just about any businessman

that this is a a great need.

A lot of the training centers they had
were gifts from local governments.

City officials have a lot of
money that they can disperse,

and when Gothard found this out,
he ended up sticking his fingers

into this government tax money pie.

Now, our look at the family and a
movement in communities around the country

to teach morality as part of
the public school curriculum.

[Brooke] Bill Gothard's teachings
have been used in public schools.

[male news reporter]
Gothard freely admits

he wants the 10 Commandments
back in public schools,

but insists Character First,
which contains no overt reference,

to God or the Bible is not
a backdoor way of doing so.

[Heather] The Oklahoma Training Center,
the first two weeks were spent teaching us

how to gaslight children
into Bible studies.

[male news reporter]
These are Character Coaches.

We didn't need their parents permission,

and we were absolutely
indoctrinating them.

[male news reporter]
Critics claim the lessons

teach blind obedience to authority.

His teachings had made
it into private prisons.

Correction Corporation America has this
program in 28 of their facilities.

This year,
they're gonna put it in 12 more.

This is why I came to prison, for these
teachings that I'm learning right now.

[intense theme music plays]

[Josh]
So at this point in time,

the IBLP teachings in some
areas are beginning to spread

into the military, and into the police.

It's just what soldiers
need to have with them.

If all the layers of authority
are lined up correctly,

the one in authority should simply
have to speak, and it should get done.

ATI was not just an academic curriculum.
World domination was the goal.

They had training centers in
Russia, New Zealand, Australia.

Mexico, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore.

They are taking this stuff everywhere.

Coming up next on
19 Kids and Counting.

[Derick] We're getting
ready to go on this big trip

to the other side of the world.

[Josh] Reality TV,
to me, is a very powerful force.

19 Kids and Counting becomes
a recruiting tool for the Institute.

[male TV narrator]
Discovery Networks,

with more than
1.5 billion global subscribers.

These programs have built TLC Discovery
into this international empire.

They've given us the ability
to really use a show

to include a lot of Bible
principles that we live by,

and it's actually through TLC,
it's gone around the world.

They've taken the family on
all these international trips.

[Jim Bob speaks Spanish]

[people laughing]

[Brooke] A lot of the older
show was fish out of water stories.

[Jim Bob through recording] We're getting
ready to go on a Japanese TV show.

[Michelle through recording]
This definitely was much different

than what we were accustomed to.

[speaking Japanese] Konichiwa!

[Jim Bob]
What's your faith background?

I don't really, kinda, believe in God.

He's got a plan for your life,
and He loves you,

and we just have to repent from our sin,

turn to Him, give Him
the control of our life.

- Cheers! Thank you, man, thank you.
- Thank you.

That was impressive.

[Jim Bob] All right guys,
let's go invade the castle.

[tense theme music plays]

[music crescendos]

In 2016, we were living in El Salvador
at the time, doing mission work.

Jim Bob just gotten the
show back up and going

with Jill and Jessa: Counting On.

We're sitting in our new
home in Central America.

We're so blessed to be here
with our little family.

[Jill] TLC was pressing us
about coming back for a sh**t.

It's called Jill and Jessa: Counting On.
You can't not come.

Like, we have to do this,
the pressure was on.

We said, news to us, like why are
you so surprised that we can't come?

We said we're here for 10 months.

You guys have been coming
down here filming us.

Now it's a matter of principle,
like we're gonna be here.

[Derick speaks Spanish]
Patience.

That was like the first time that we
really put our foot down, and said no.

I'd never said no to my family before,
and just been like, no, no, no.

We cannot do
what you're asking us to do.

And it was one of those
like a-ha moments for us

that basically they're
like, well you have to.

[intense theme music plays]

[Jill] My dad sends us the signature page,

along with like just the
obligation section of the contract.

I was like, somebody forged
my signature, I'm sure of it.

And then I look at it and I'm
like, that is my signature.

And that's when we realized
that I had signed this

the day before we got married.
It's so exciting, Pops.

And then I'm like,
"Oh I remember that.

That's not what I thought I was signing."

We never gave our word
that we're generally

gonna be committed to anything.
This was fraud.

[Jill] And I'm freaking out, 'cause
now we're aware of this contract.

Like, does it hold any water?
Are we gonna get off the plane,

and they're arrest us because
we've violated something?

Because if we're giving up something,
then we should get something in return.

Jim Bob said, "Well what do
you want, like $10 an hour?"

And I said,
"I don't know, what's it worth?"

And he's like, "Well, what's your price?"
I said, "What's it worth?"

He goes, "What's your price?"
"What's it worth?"

He's like,
"I could pay you $10 an hour."

[dramatic theme music plays]

- That's when we asked to talk to TLC.
- [Jill] Chad said something about...

[Derick]
Chad reached out and said,

"You can't talk to them
without me on the phone."

"Without me on there, because
the contract's not with you.

It's through your dad, and
I'm his representative,

so I have to be involved
in these conversations."

- And we were not able to talk to TLC.
- Yeah.

Honestly they probably would think
if you have a problem with it,

you'd speak up. But it's
not the boat that I was in.

[female reporter]
Family relies on food banks...

We have Jill Duggar, who is
saying she never made a dime.

That she even had to, at one point, rely
on food banks t help feed her family.

[Jill]
Around that time my dad said,

"Thanks to Derick, I'm gonna
go ahead and pay some people,

pay some of the older kids,
a lump sum."

Something that we could work...

He said some of the boys
are getting to the point

where they wanna start
businesses and stuff,

so I think it's good
timing, and blah blah blah.

[Derick] The amount that he ended up
paying in a lump sum to each person,

I don't think it would be a coincidence
that that would be very

close to what minimum wage
would be up to 18.

But, in order to receive that, you had
to sign another deal with my dad,

his production company, Mad Family Inc.,
that would be like, forever.

We were automatically like,
we're done.

We found out on social
media that our relationship,

if we ever had a relationship with TLC,
came to an end at that time.

It was a difficult decision,
but something that we knew

we really needed to do for our family.

Do you regret leaving the show?

- [both] No.
- We're not on the best terms

with some of my family. Um. We've
had some disagreements and stuff.

We don't wanna just be like, oh they're
sorry, so we should just move on,

and everything's okay, and
basically nothing change.

It's obviously hard when there's
continued stuff happening.

[Derick] When I got threats,
like someone reached out anonymously

on a very lengthy text
message, it was just bizarre.

[eerie theme music plays]

Somebody who
claimed to be a true friend,

why are you anonymous using
a burner phone, then? He wants...

[male producer] Did Jim Bob
send you that text message?

- I don't know, I can't speculate.
- [Jill] I don't think so.

[dramatic theme music plays]

I did report it to the police department,
and shared exactly what the threat was.

[Jill] It's just like, this whole culture.
I don't know, the fear and lack of trust.

Disobedience doesn't mean dishonor,
like you're dishonoring me

just because you don't agree
exactly with what I think.

We don't bless what you're doing,

so therefore you have to
do what we want you to do.

Honor, and respect, and obey
were all on the same level back then.

- [eerie theme music plays]
- In the culture that Gothard created,

there is an unchecked power dynamic
at play, and whenever that happens,

you're going to start
seeing some form of abuse.

[Floyd] The idea that your parents
are your ultimate authority

wasn't necessarily true,

because it was whoever was in
charge of you at that moment.

Basically, the oldest
male present was in charge.

When I was at a training center,

one of the boys who was in charge of the
maintenance at the training center,

one night he came in,
and he climbs in my bed.

I didn't know how to say, "I don't
want you in my bed, get out please,"

because I'd never been taught that.
And not only that, but any back talk

was beat out of us at a young age.
So, I can say with experience

that sexual as*ault and training centers

within the Institute, under Bill Gothard,
is very real and rampant.

[somber theme music plays]

Bill Gothard had actually been the subject
of a sex scandal back in 1980.

Steve Gothard, Bill's brother, was using
his position of power in IBLP

to sexually harass women, and to coerce
them into performing sex acts on him.

[eerie theme music plays]

People are coming forward and saying
that Steve has sexually abused,

and harassed multiple
people in the office.

And so what Bill did was take his brother,
sends him out to a campus

that has even less oversight
than the main campus does...

and then leaves Steve to basically
do whatever he wants out there.

[male narrator]
Northwoods Conference Center

in the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Tubing, kayaking, and hiking

were just a few of the many activities
they were able to enjoy.

There is a landing strip for
the Learjet that they owned.

[Brooke] Girls who disobeyed Bill
got sent to Steve in the Northwoods.

At one point, Bill Gothard is caught
with a young woman in a cabin,

and so this kind of comes to a head,
and Gothard and his brother

are confronted by everyone
who's working for them.

Bill keeps trying to find ways
to keep Steve in the organization,

and one of his solutions is, why don't
we just have him marry one of the women?

And when you try to get an understanding
of what was going on in this culture,

and how were women viewed,
and how is sexuality viewed...

...That story is terrifying.

And even at the time,
that was so out there

that even his own board was like,
no, that does not fix this.

Even by their standard,
that was too far.

[Brooke] In kind of a compromise,
what Bill Gothard ends up deciding to do

is to get rid of Steve, but he
came up with this new teaching.

It's the Matthew 18 teaching.

Calling this biblical,
basing it on Matthew 18,

making it impermissible to gossip,

which means making allegations
against leaders, in particular.

This is also part of the
Duggar's commitments.

Praise publicly, and if you have
something negative to say,

just go to that person privately.

[Kristin]
This culture is shaped in a way

that makes abuse incredibly
difficult to report for women,

for other members of the community.
They really have no recourse.

[dramatic theme music plays]

[Emily] I do remember listening
to some of the sessions

that Michelle and Jim Bob did together.

I wished that my parents
had had the kind of marriage

that I thought Michelle and Jim Bob had,
or at least they were showing.

When I was about 10 years old,
my family really shattered apart.

[somber theme music plays]

My father molested me.

A lot of people ask me if my mother
was aware of the abuse going on.

She knew our family was in great danger,
but my mother was in a cult too.

When Bill first spotted me,
I was 13 years old, and he was 71.

He asked as soon as I turned 14
for me to quit homeschool,

to move up to Chicago, and live
at headquarters indefinitely.

Bill took one of his female assistants.

He pointed at me, and he
looked her straight in the eye,

and he said, "Don't let this one go."

- [unintelligible background chatter]
- As time goes on...

...It becomes very obvious that
Bill Gothard has like, a type.

It was kind of the rumor that like,
the blonde girls get picked.

[male narrator]
One of the most exciting ministries

the Lord has entrusted to the Institute
this year is the Journey to the Heart.

Students on the journey
also receive training,

and one-on-one
counsel from Mr. Gothard.

Journey to the Heart was a 10 day camp.
Mr. Gothard would be there,

teaching these lessons throughout the day.

Every person that came on a Journey
to the Heart had a meeting with him.

Every single person.

Journey to the Heart seems
to me like a vetting process

for like, which types do I like to invite
for further long-term things?

Like, learn more about
their vulnerabilities,

because you're gonna learn
those things through an interview.

- [bells chiming]
- [Lindsey] I was 18 when I met him.

I go into a room,
it was kind of a dark room.

[suspenseful theme music plays]

I'm in there, his assistant's
sitting over in the corner,

Bill Gothard's sitting at his desk.
It just felt ominous, and intimidating.

[music intensifies]

He basically just kind of leans back with
this sort of like, he's admiring you.

"Well Lindsey, so glad you're here.

I would love for you
to come to headquarters.

Would you like to come
and work at headquarters?"

Now, I don't know how to
put enough emphasis on this,

headquarters was the sh*t.

You could not get any higher than working
at headquarters, especially as a female.

And if this is what Gothard
wants, this is what God wants.

You want a future?
Then fulfill our special calling.

Meeting Bill Gothard is like
meeting the pope, the president,

and Justin Bieber all rolled into one.

I just have gotta be the
most blessed person I know.

He does have an odd physical appearance.
You know, he's got a Lego-shaped head,

and his ill-fitting
Men's Warehouse suit.

He can just draw anybody in. [scoffs]

It's like watching
the snake in The Jungle Book.

♪ Trust in me ♪

Husbands, treat her like a
china teacup, not a coffee mug.

Bill never married.

Repopulate the nation with godly
sons and daughters. Now is the time.

And he never had any children.

I just made up my mind
that I would never kiss a girl

until I was at that wedding night.

- Never been married.
- Yes.

- Never had children.
- Yes.

- But yet, he has this entire plan...
- Of like, how to model a family.

But that's how you're
trying to model a family,

but he's never been a
husband, or a parent?

Yes.

I don't think anyone ever questioned it.

I mean, he got his revelations
directly from God, so.

[gentle theme music plays]

You would get chosen to
ride in Mr. Gothard's van.

All of us were under 18.

He would always have a girl next to him.

There was always petting to heavy petting,
his hand on knees, up skirts.

- We never talked about it.
- [dramatic music plays]

I knew it was weird,
but I didn't know it was wrong.

He didn't need to test our boundaries

because our boundaries had been
tested in so many other ways

and we had already been
proven faithful, in a sense.

[Emily] When I was 18, I finally
ended up at headquarters.

Bill called my father and he's like,

"So your daughter explains to me that she
wants to learn how to respect her father."

And as he said it,
Bill looked at me and winked.

Then when Bill talked to me,
he made my dad out to be the villain,

and proceeded to tell me that my father
had lost all authority over me,

and that Bill was my new authority.

[Lindsay] At headquarters,
we would have these weird,

almost like a therapy session.

And he would always wait
for his assistant to leave.

And he was like,
"So are you a virgin?"

And I was like,
"Well, yes sir, of course."

I didn't know what sex was.
I didn't know how babies were made.

I didn't know anything.

I just knew virginity was like,
this thing that I had within me

that was only meant
for this one person.

He's like,
"Well, let's kneel before the Lord."

And I was like, whoa,
that's an elevated measure of prayer.

So we get down on our knees
and I immediately do this,

and I'm just like all ready,
and then all the sudden,

I feel his hand creep up against mine,

and he kept rubbing his thumb
across the back of my hand.

Which, we have a thing
within the ATI system

that we call the six inch rule, to keep
six inches between a female and a male.

And he seemed to have no problem.

This became routine. This happened three
times a week, maybe four times a week.

[intense theme music plays]

One night at headquarters,
he said, "You belong here.

I love you.
You know that, right?"

"Your father doesn't love
you, but I love you."

He played with my hair,
and he rubbed my shoulders,

and he put his hand on my thigh.

The building was empty.

Bill said, "Why don't you
come up to my office?"

[music intensifies]

He took me by the hand.

We started to walk
through the dark hallways,

and just as we opened the door,

I saw that there was still
a male staff assistant

sitting at the computer
doing some work,

and Bill was startled. He did not expect
that man to be in there.

[dramatic music fades]

Shortly after I arrived
home from headquarters,

the abuse at home got significantly worse
because Bill had made promises to my dad.

My dad was expecting me
to submit more to his authority.

I am one of many,
many, many young ladies

that Bill preyed upon,
and took advantage of.

I would walk by and sometimes I'd be like,
oh, I wonder who he's praying with now.

But then I couldn't really bring myself
to like really look in,

or stop and and take a peek.
So many other girls were going through

that exact same experience,
and none of us felt that we had

even the ability to
say anything to anybody

because we wouldn't be heard.
If he were to, you know,

do anything wrong,
I brought it upon upon him.

[suspenseful theme music plays]

[Brooke] Wisdom Book 36 teaches
the law of crying out,

which is that if a woman
is sexually assaulted,

and she doesn't cry out
to God for help while it's happening,

she's equally to blame.

It's a teaching that basically re-situates
sexual as*ault as the victim's fault.

- [ominous theme music plays]
- [Heather] In one of the morning

wisdom searches,
they had us go around in this circle,

and talk about if we had been attacked,
or molested, or r*ped,

and what we did
to deserve that attack.

[Michelle] I was involved in
cheerleading and gymnastics.

You know, kind of dancing
around out there in a short skirt.

- She had no clue how guys thought.
- And how defrauding that was,

because defrauding is
stirring up desires in someone

that cannot be righteously fulfilled.

All of these examples were
just existing as a person.

Like, oh, well did you see
how short her skirt was?

It was like, oh, did you see that?
She had to bend over to scrub the floor.

Like, you can't exist without being
accused of tempting a man to attack you.

[Bill]
Why does God let tragedies take place?

If He allows our physical to be damaged,
He just increases the spiritual power,

and that's a principle, through scripture.

[intense theme music plays]

[Heather]
They glorified being attacked.

Would you rather have never been attacked,
and not be spiritually mighty?

Like, well now you're lucky, you know?
I almost became jealous

of my friends who had gotten r*ped,
because God wanted to use them more.

And that's so weird to say out loud.

- [lively piano music]
- ♪ It will be worth it all ♪

♪ When we see Jesus ♪

♪ Our trials will seem so small ♪

♪ When we see Christ
When we see Christ ♪

[Josh] When you track Gothard's
teaching long enough, you see that

what we're talking about is the playbook
of a powerful narcissist, and a dynamic

where there's not any institutional
checks and balances put in place.

We have a gift, a gift to you, sir.

Give you assurance
of our love and affection for you.

- Ah!
- [audience laughing]

- [man in box] Your suit is ready!
- [audience cheers]

[Josh] You look at all the different
stories, all the different families,

you look at all the different campuses.

Everywhere you go, you're gonna see
the exact same thing happening,

abuse shows up in
everything that it touches.

[tense theme music plays]

Shortly after I arrived
home from headquarters...

[Chad] Recovering Grace
was a community online for people

to share their stories of the abuse
that they experienced in ATI,

and their own personal
stories of recovery.

It is where a lot of
the momentum came about

to push back against Bill Gothard
for his sexual harassment.

[Emily] On the front page, it was titled

[heavy sigh]
"Sexual Harassment at Headquarters."

On impulse I jumped in the comment
section and said, "Hey, this is my story."

- [dramatic music plays]
- [keyboard keys clacking]

A few days later, I got
a phone call from Bill.

He was... livid.

He just lit into me for
an hour, on the phone,

and said I needed to remove
the comments immediately.

He started calling multiple times a day.

You know, you have this kind of parallel
of Bill Gothard abusing young girls

in his program, and Josh Duggar
abusing young girls in his home.

A lot of these stories started
being shared on Recovering Grace,

and so many similarities came up.

[Josh] What Bill was accused of
ran a pretty wide gamut.

Grooming behavior, petting hair,
touching hair, long, uncomfortable hugs.

One woman turned around,
and he was sitting at the desk,

and she could see that he had a erection
underneath his pants,

and his legs were spread out,
and he was staring intently at her.

It's story after story
after story of that,

and it almost feels like
whatever was repressed

inside of Gothard was spilling out
into him testing boundaries

of how far he could go with
someone before they freaked out.

[intense music bellows]

There was one woman who
accused Bill Gothard of r*pe.

[audience murmuring]

All right, thank you for
returning to your seats.

[dramatic theme music plays]

Whenever you and I
are falsely accused,

it's like we've been given
this cup of bitter water,

and we must go through this public test.

[Josh] So Gothard was removed
from leadership from IBLP

because of all of these growing
allegations that are coming against him.

[Bill] Just so you know,
this property was given to me.

And so it escalates to the point where
there's a moment at an IBLP event

where he has to be physically
escorted out of the event

by the same campus police group
that he helped create.

[male reporter] William W. Gothard Junior
was asked by an Alert Academy official

to leave the private property,
and refused to do so.

Now, of course, every single thing
the man's ever written

and done is still on the website, and
that's still the only thing they're using,

but they no longer want the
liability of having him,

the person, officially a
part of the organization.

If you're perceived as useful,
people will cover up for you.

Bill Gothard had that happen,

and then of course, you know,
when he was no longer useful,

they took the teachings and ran
with it in other directions.

[Brooke] There were sharks circling,
realizing that the Institute

had a tremendous amount of money, assets,
and funds equaling about $90 million.

And if you could get rid of Bill Gothard,

somebody who was left
gets control of all of that cash.

[dramatic theme music plays]

I encourage you also to bring two
or three of your friends with you,

and let's increase this, because I think
the more people we can get here,

the more lives that will be changed.

[female producer]
Do you think that

Jim Bob, in a way,
is trying to emulate Bill Gothard?

Oh, definitely. Because
Mr. Gothard has been taken out of it,

from what my understanding is
is that Jim Bob and Michelle

are now his replacement.

[eerie theme music swells]

He has changed so much, I don't know
if he's even the same guy that I knew.

With them being on TLC's show,

I think that has definitely
given them a platform

to encourage people to come to IBLP,

and they've encouraged
people to move to Arkansas,

which is completely a cult move.

We used to be part of a megachurch,
and we started meeting at home

to have a service on Sunday morning, and
it's really a special time for our family.

They do believe that the way they live
is the way everybody should live.

I don't think America wants to live
like fundamentalist families,

but they don't understand what
fundamentalist families look like anymore.

- Oh, Jim Duggar.
- Jim Duggar, yeah.

[Tia] It's been shined up and put on TLC.

- [intense theme music plays]
- At the age of 7 years old...

[music crescendos]

The last time I talked
to my uncle was... um...

...erm, 2019.

You called him, and you said,

"Hey, I'm seeing something
about Homeland Security."

- I have reporters, from other countries...
- Right.

Who have flown in here,
asking us questions...

- About Homeland Security raids.
- I don't even know whats going on.

Well, breaking news tonight.

Harsh reality for reality
TV star, Josh Duggar.

[female reporter 2]
Josh Duggar has been arrested.

[male reporter]
Duggar asked agents quote,

"Why are you here?
"Was someone downloading child porn?"

[intense theme music plays]

[male agent]
We were able to determine that

this was the business where

downloads of child
p*rn*graphy had occurred,

and if there's an electronic device that
possibly might have this video, or images,

or anything associated
like that that's on it,

we'd like to know now.

[Josh] I'm not denying guilt, but I'm
not saying that I'm, you know,

I mean as far as anything goes,
I don't wanna say the wrong thing.

[dramatic theme music bellows]

It didn't matter,
ultimately, that Gothard fell.

- The movement goes on.
- [music continues]

The Duggars have exact steps to follow
to fulfill the mission of what IBLP is.

There is a decades long,
multi-generational plan

to raise up Christian homeschool graduates

to infiltrate the highest levels
of government, and the media.

You can't be a they/them, people,
you can't!

I'm sorry, pick one
or the other, at least.

[Brooke] They are parroting
the older generation.

Jim Bob Duggar is running
for a seat in the Arkansas Senate.

[Kristin] It's really bold to run
for office while you have a son on trial

for child sexual as*ault materials.

[dramatic music crescendos]

We just flat out lied.

[tense theme music plays through]