Jesse Ventura is following up his successful “American Sniper” lawsuit against the estate of late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle by suing publisher HarperCollins.
The Former Minnesota governor was awarded $1.8 million for defamation after being referred to as “Scruff Face” in the sniper’s book.
In the chapter titled “Punching Out Scruff Face,” Mr. Kyle wrote that former pro-wrestler was upsetting Navy SEALs in a bar with comments regarding the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. When Mr. Ventura was asked to “cool it,” the response was allegedly, “You deserve to lose a few.” A fight is then said to have occurred in which Mr. Kyle punched “Scruff Face” with enough force to knock him to the ground.
Mr. Ventura’s new lawsuit charges that news reports “generated by the false and defamatory story,” are worth $150,000 in damages from the HarperCollins, the Star Tribune reported Monday.
The cinematic telling of Chris Kyle’s life will be released Dec. 25. “American Sniper” is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Bradley Cooper as the famous Navy SEAL.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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