Jim Holt

Jim L. Holt (born January 17, 1965) is an American Baptist minister and a conservative Republican politician from Springdale in northwestern Arkansas. Background Holt was born in Camden in Ouachita County, southern Arkansas. He joined the military in 1987 and served in the U.S. Army Joint Intelligence Operations at the National Security Agency. His website notes he "was involved in highly classified operations during the Cold War, the ousting of Manuel Noriega from Panama, and Operation Desert Storm". He is a "small business owner/operator and a part-time counselor". In 1996, Holt became an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He is married to his wife, the former Bobye Barenberg, originally of Rogers, Arkansas, they have eleven children. Jim Holt, once a close friend of Jim Bob Duggar and a key character in the documentary “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” had an order of protection granted against him by his wife, Bobye Holt, on April 21, 2023. More court records indicate Samuel Holt, one of the couple’s sons, was also granted an order of protection against Jim Holt on May 8, 2023. Political career Holt was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in the 2000 general election. He served in the House from 2001 to 2003, during which time, he sponsored a bill designed to prohibit the teaching of the theory of evolution in Arkansas public schools (see Evolution below). Holt was elected to the Arkansas Senate in the 2002 general election and served there until December 31, 2006.