Contact: Dr. Pat McEwen, 321-431- 3962; Rev. Flip Benham, 980-722-4920, both with Operation Save America

JACKSON, Miss., Dec. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following statement is from Rev. Flip Benham, Director of Operation Save America:

"Eleven gentle Christians will be returning to Jackson, Mississippi this Tuesday, December 19, 2006, to stand trial for exposing the horror of abortion on the streets of Jackson. There is one remaining abortion mill in the entire state of Mississippi, and it is located in Jackson. Jackson was the focal point of America's war over abortion this past summer as hundreds of Christians came to the streets.

"These Christians were arrested for preaching the Gospel of Christ, holding Scripture signs, and carrying graphic pictures of aborted babies at various venues on the public side walks inside the city. One man was arrested for carrying the cross of Christ upon his shoulder. So much for the First Amendment!

"The Jackson police, however, stood idly by as anarchists (many wearing masks over their faces) threatened Christian moms, dads, and their children with vile and filthy language, slashed tires on cars, and committed obscene acts in front of our children. The police watched as these thugs jumped on top of a car, beat it with poles, broke its windshield, and attempted to drag the Christian out of the car and beat him.

"Yet the Jackson police found it necessary to arrest Christians for carrying signs that witnessed for Jesus.

"What kind of a city would do this? A city that is providing cover for the abortion industry. That's right! It takes a village to kill a child, and the city of Jackson from the Mayor on down is complicit in child murder.

"When Operation Save America came to Jackson July 15-22, 2006, it provided the safest week in over thirty years for children safe in their mother's wombs in Mississippi. Hundreds of Christians from across the nation converged on Jackson in hopes to make Mississippi the first abortion Free State in America. Rather than help this Christian proclamation, the officials in power attempted to criminalize it."

Operation Save America will hold a press conference Tuesday morning.

Where: Steps of the Municipal City Court Building, Jackson, Mississippi

When: Tuesday, December 19, 2006, 9:30 A.M.

Who: The defendants, including Rev. Benham