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Jesse Ventura Wins Lawsuit Against Dead Navy SEAL’s Family

Seth Richardson Contributor
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Former WWE  Star and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is set to receive $1.8 million from the verdict of a lawsuit involving slain Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle’s widow, according to Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCS.

The lawsuit filed against Kyle before his death alleged that Kyle defamed Ventura when he claimed in his book “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History” that he knocked out a “celebrity” for badmouthing the war. He later identified Ventura as the victim on the Opie and Anthony Show. (RELATED: Navy SEAL who ‘punched’ Jesse Ventura: Witnesses are coming)

Kyle died in Feb. 2012 when fellow veteran Eddie Ray Routh shot him at a gun range. Kyle and another friend were trying to help Routh with his PTSD.

After his death, the lawsuit was transferred to Kyle’s estate, which is run by his widow Taya. The jury was at a deadlock until U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle (no relation), sent the jury back to deliberate at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The verdict includes $500,000 for defamation and $1.3 million for unjust enrichment.

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