Contact: Matt Krepcho, D. James Kennedy Ministries, 954-334-4304

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 23, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Frank Wright, President & Chief Executive Officer at D. James Kennedy Ministries (DJKM), announced that DJKM filed suit today in the United States District Court against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the SPLC illegally trafficked in false and misleading descriptions of the services offered by DJKM and committed defamation against DJKM arising from the publication and distribution of false information that libels the ministry's reputation and subjects the ministry to disgrace, ridicule, odium, and contempt in the estimation of the public.

In a statement released today, Dr. Wright said: "We embarked today on a journey to right a terrible wrong. Those who knowingly label Christian ministries as 'hate' groups, solely for subscribing to the historic Christian faith, are either woefully uninformed or willfully deceitful. In the case of the Southern Poverty Law Center, our lawsuit alleges the latter."

Wright went on to say: "These false and illegal characterizations have a chilling effect on the free exercise of religion and on religious free speech for all people of faith. After having given the SPLC an opportunity to retract, we have undertaken this legal action, seeking a trial by a jury of our peers, to preserve our own rights under the law and to defend the religious free speech rights of all Americans."

About DJKM: D. James Kennedy Ministries is a Christian media ministry that seeks to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ through every available electronic medium. Its four-fold mission is: 1) to proclaim the good news of the Gospel throughout the Earth; 2) to teach and nurture Christ's followers; 3) to equip and encourage believers to live out their faith; and 4) to defend religious liberty, encouraging believers to lovingly engage the culture with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ.