The AP published photos of Ted Cruz with an image of a gun pointing at his head

The Associated Press published some controversial photos Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over the weekend.

Cruz, a presidential candidate, was campaigning Saturday at the CrossRoads Shooting Sports shooting range in Johnston, Iowa, according to Politico. Various media outlets, including Fox News, jumped when several AP photos showed a gun image in the background pointed at Cruz's head:

The conservative news site Breitbart had a particularly harsh reaction to the photos. On Sunday, the website accused the AP of targeting Cruz because he is a Republican and suggested the wire service would never do the same thing to a Democrat.

An AP spokesman responded to the controversy with a matter-of-fact statement describing process in which it took the photos.

"Presidential candidate Ted Cruz was shown in a series of 14 photos taken by an Associated Press photographer at a 'Celebrate the 2nd Amendment' event Saturday afternoon, held at a shooting range in Johnston, Iowa. Five of the photos published by AP included images of guns seen on a wall in the background so that it appeared a pistol was pointed at Sen. Cruz's head," said Paul Colford, the AP's media relations director.

He added, "The images were not intended to portray Sen. Cruz in a negative light."