Ventura: 'American Sniper' made him SEAL castout

Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura during the first day of jury selection in a defamation lawsuit, Tuesday, July 8, 2014.
Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura says he no longer feels welcome at Navy SEALs reunions since publication of a book that accused him of making disparaging remarks about the special operations force.

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Ventura faces tough road proving defamation

Ventura is suing the estate of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle, who was a Navy SEAL. The book includes an anecdote in which Kyle says he punched Ventura at a California bar in 2006.

Kyle says in the book the punch came after Ventura went on a political tirade and said the SEALs "deserve to lose a few."

Ventura says the story was made up.

Ventura testified in federal court in Minnesota on Monday that the book did immense harm to his reputation in the Navy SEAL community. He says it left "a hole in my heart."

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