Did Jesse Ventura Get Knocked Out In A Bar Back In 2006? And Did This Alleged Fight Cost Him Millions? A Strange Lawsuit Claims, Yes.

A very unusual trial is underway in Minneapolis involving former wrestler, former governor, and current conspiracy theorist Jesse Ventura. Ventura is suing Taya Kyle and the estate of late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle for millions of dollars.

Kyle is the author of the 2012 bestseller "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History." If you have not read it, you probably should. It is a gripping and powerful account. Tragically, Kyle was killed in 2013 when a fellow Marine veteran, Eddie Ray Routh, shot him at a Texas gun range. Routh, who was suffering from PTSD, had been participating in a support program Kyle ran to help veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life.

Ventura's lawsuit centers on a story in "American Sniper" describing an alleged bar fight that took place in San Diego in 2006. According to the book, Kyle and a group of fellow SEALs gathered at a bar after attending the wake of a fallen comrade, Michael Monsoor. Also present at the bar was a celebrity Kyle referred to only as "Scruff Face," who was socializing with members of the Navy's Underwater Demolition Team in another section of the room.

Kyle wrote that "Scruff Face" began making disparaging remarks about the SEALs, President George W. Bush, and the Iraq War. Among the statements attributed to him were comments along the lines of "the Navy SEALs deserve to lose a few," and, in another version, that the SEAL who had died "probably deserved it" because "they die all the time."

Jesse Ventura / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

One eyewitness, the mother of a SEAL who had died only weeks earlier, testified that "Scruff Face" showed no sympathy toward her and instead continued ranting about how Americans did not belong in Iraq. He allegedly added that the United States should not be overseas "killing women and children" and suggested that President Bush had foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks.

Regardless of where you stand on the Iraq War or 9/11, it is worth considering the audience for those remarks. These comments were allegedly made in front of a group of SEALs who had just come from the funeral of one of their own.

According to Kyle's account, he eventually had enough. He allegedly approached "Scruff Face" and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Kyle wrote that the man was left bleeding from the mouth and lips when he regained consciousness.

For several years, the identity of "Scruff Face" remained ambiguous. That changed in 2012, when Kyle began identifying the man as Jesse Ventura during radio interviews and book promotions.

Side note: Ventura ran for governor under his wrestling name, "Jesse 'The Body' Ventura." His birth name is Jesse George Janos. That would be roughly equivalent to electing a Senator Iron Sheik. It is unusual, to say the least. Anyway, back to the lawsuit.

Ventura insists the bar fight never happened. He claims Kyle's story was defamatory and caused serious financial harm. During court proceedings, Ventura testified that between 2002 and 2012 he earned roughly $11 million. His peak year was 2003, when he made $3.8 million, largely from his work as an MSNBC commentator. In 2011, Ventura earned $676,000. In 2012, after "American Sniper" was released, his income reportedly fell to $190,000. Ventura claims it has been in decline ever since.

He further argues that the allegations directly led to the cancellation of his TruTV show and a noticeable drop in sales of his own books. He also claims the controversy effectively ostracized him from the Navy SEAL community, barring him from events and reunions he once attended.

Because Chris Kyle was killed in 2013, Ventura is now suing Kyle's estate. More specifically, the lawsuit targets Kyle's widow, who is raising two young children. Ventura is seeking a share of the estimated $3 million in royalties generated by "American Sniper" since its release. Attorneys for the Kyle estate counter that Ventura's public profile and earning power had already been declining well before the book was published and have called multiple witnesses who say the bar fight did, in fact, occur.

So what do you think? Is Jesse Ventura the victim of a damaging lie, or is this an opportunistic lawsuit aimed at a dead man's success?

UPDATE: After more than a week of deliberations, on July 29, a jury found that Ventura had been defamed by Kyle's account. The jury awarded Ventura $500,000 for defamation and $1.3 million for unjust enrichment.