Jury Deliberating in Ventura Defamation Case
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The jury deliberating in former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's defamation lawsuit against late "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle has gone home for the day without reaching a verdict.
The six-man, four-woman jury got the case around noon Tuesday after hearing closing arguments. They left the federal courthouse in St. Paul about 4:30 p.m. They're due to reconvene at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Ventura testified during the two-week trial that Kyle fabricated a passage in his 2012 best-seller about punching him in a California bar in 2006 after Ventura allegedly made remarks insulting Navy SEALs. But Kyle said in videotaped testimony that his story was accurate.
Ventura's attorney suggested that $5 million to $15 million would be reasonable compensation. An attorney for Kyle's estate said Ventura failed to prove his case.