Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is suing Nevada Democratic House candidate Ruben Kihuen for political attack ads tying Rep. Cresent Hardy to Bundy.

Bundy said an ad from Kihuen, who is challenging Hardy in Nevada’s 4th District, falsely says that Bundy’s 2014 standoff with the Bureau of Land Management led to the deaths of two police officers.

Two months after the standoff, two officers in Las Vegas were killed by Jerad and Amanda Miller, who had visited the ranch during the standoff to join the protesters, but later left the group and never met Bundy, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. 

A mailer from Nevada’s state Democratic Party, also part of the lawsuit’s raison d’etre, shows Bundy’s mugshot and says, “This man’s standoff led to the deaths of two Las Vegas police officers,” and adds that Hardy supported him.

Hardy campaign spokesman Larry Farnsworth jabbed Kihuen for the ad.

“If we’re going to make people guilty by association, then the only house Ruben Kihuen is headed to is the courthouse to stand by all of his friends under FBI investigation,” Farnsworth said.

Kihuen campaign manager Dave Chase called the suit a “political stunt,” adding that “since the start of this campaign, we have consistently called out Congressman Hardy for his controversial association with Cliven Bundy.”

Chase also recalled comments Bundy made wondering if African-Americans were “better off as slaves, picking cotton.”

Hardy is considered one of the most vulnerable members of the House. The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the race as Tilts Democrat.