Zachary Young alleged CNN defamed him in a report by chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt that said he operated in a "black market."

A Florida jury found CNN liable on Friday in a high-stakes defamation trial against U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, who alleged that the network maligned him as an “illegal profiteer” with a report on Afghan evacuees being charged thousands of dollars to flee the country following the U.

A jury in Florida on Friday found that CNN defamed a Navy veteran with a report on his business that aired in 2021 and awarded him $5 million damages. The plaintiff, Zachary Young, sued the network saying it harmed his business by including him in a 2021 segment about contractors who the report suggested

CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt defended his story on Zachary Young, a security consultant who charged $14,000 or more to evacuate people from Afghanistan.

A Florida jury concluded the network smeared the man’s reputation, awarding $5 million for losses and suffering and weighing additional punitive damages.

A Florida jury on Friday found CNN defamed a U.S. Navy veteran when it implied he illegally profited from helping Afghans flee the country during a 2021 segment on "The Lead with Jake Tapper." CNN was ordered to pay Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages,

A Florida jury on Friday found TV news provider CNN liable for defaming a U.S. Navy veteran who helped evacuate people from Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2021. The six-person jury said CNN had to pay damages totaling $5 million.

The jury decision came after a two-week trial where lawyers for the contractor argued that the network had falsely accused him of illegal activity.

CNN correspondent Katie Bo Lillis was hit with hard-hitting questions by the jurors in the network's high-stakes defamation trial taking place in Panama City, Florida.