ST. PAUL — Jesse Ventura brought his defamation lawsuit before home-state jurors Tuesday in a bid to punish the estate of late “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle, who bragged in an autobiography that he decked the former Minnesota governor during a barroom scrap almost a decade ago.

In opening statements in federal court, Ventura attorney David Bradley Olsen said the punch never happened and that Ventura never made disparaging comments about servicemen, as Kyle claimed.

“Jesse Ventura will testify there was no incident, there was no altercation and that Kyle made the whole story up,” Olsen said.

Kyle estate attorney John Borger countered that the jury would get the real story from Kyle via testimony videotaped before his death.

“You will hear Chris Kyle testify he was absolutely sure that what he wrote about Jesse Ventura’s behavior was true,” Borger said. Both sides said they would produce witnesses to back their version of events.

Ventura, a former Navy SEAL and wrestler who was Minnesota governor from 1999-2003, alleges Kyle defamed him in his best-selling book.