There is more to Derick Dillard than his ongoing feud with Jim Bob Duggar. He in law school and hoping to become an attorney.
Now, Derick is hinting that he aims to become more than just another attorney. Is he planning to run for office?
Derick Dillard sat down for a remote interview with First Class Parenthood podcast, where he was asked about his plans for the future.
"That's a loaded question," Derick acknowledges.
"But," he says, "I knew coming into it that I want to be involved in public service."
Derick continues: "so I'm trying to get a lot of experience in that."
"I worked for the state attorney general this past summer," Derick notes.
He continues, stating that he is "currently interning at a prosecutor's office."
"And," Derick continues, he is "trying to get a lot of broad experience in that area,"
But he isn't married to the idea of being a prosecutor. He is, in fact, married to Jill.
Derick plans to continue this work "and probably work as a public defender or prosecutor initially."
Some would say those as overlapping jobs, both pursuing justice from opposing directions.
Others would say that those career paths are total opposites, similar only in that they are the attorney careers where the pay sucks.
Still, Derick says that he will keep with it "and [...] see where it goes there."
"Before our second son was born," Derick recalls.
He continues "we moved back to the states."
As fans may recall, he and Jill had been engaged in some especially dubious and controversial missionary work.
For a host of reasons, both fans and critics were happy to see them return to the US.
Derick continues to recall: "and due to a number of circumstances - personal circumstances in our life - ended up pursuing law school."
"And," he acknowledges, "I'm a law student at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville."
Derick's plans to become an attorney have been known for some time, now.
But now, thanks to this interview, fans' assumptions about how he will employ these legal credentials have begun to shift.
When Derick first announced that he was a law student, it was widely assumed that he would use his law degree to push his ideology.
What would that mean?
Well, Derick is infamous for making horrible statements in opposition to transgender rights, directing his vitriol at a then-underage high school girl.
At the time, he claimed to feel nothing but compassion for Jazz Jennings, but if you're campaigning against who someone is, that's not compassion.
So, it was assumed that Derick would use any legal credentials to pursue court cases in opposition to people's civil rights.
Gay marriage, gay adoption, abortion rights, trans rights, trans inclusion, rights for religious minorities -- all of these and more might be his targets.
Fans even pointed that some wealthy, fundamentalist churches have programs that pay for law degrees to create just such a person.
But while Derick has an alarming history when it comes to statements about minorities, his plans may be different.
If Derick wants to be "involved in public service," being an attorney would be a good stepping stone.
Corporate attorneys and private defense attorneys make big money. Public defenders and prosecutors make squat.
Could it be that Derick's idea of "public service" means running for office to push his point of view?
Or are fans misreading his statements? For now, it's hard to tell.
