If Ventura refused to file a complaint, and there were no witnesses that were willing to stand up and write out a witness statement, there would be no police report, and this would not have made the news, regardless of who Ventura use to be. Considering that this SEAL shared this event on a radio show, it’s not likely that it was simply a brag made to a buddy in a bar after several drinks. We probably will NEVER know whether this incident did or did not happen.
Jesse Ventura is a public figure who has not been shy about expressing his opinion about the way this country is going. And then there was that lawsuit against the TSA. They want to neutralize him in the public eye in case Jesse ever decides to run for public office.