FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT

ST. PAUL - The author and former Navy SEAL who was one of two men slain at a Texas gun range was the defendant in a defamation lawsuit by former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura.

Ventura sued "American Sniper'' author Chris Kyle in federal court in Minnesota over a portion of the book that claims Kyle decked Ventura in a 2006 bar fight over unpatriotic remarks he claimed Ventura made.

Ventura, who's also an ex-SEAL, said the punch never happened.

Kyle's Minneapolis attorney, John Borger, said he's "shocked and terribly saddened'' by Kyle's death.

Texas authorities have charged a suspect with murder in Saturday's shootings of the 38-year-old Kyle and the other man.