The jury deliberated for more than eight hours starting before ruling in favor of Zachary Young in his defamation suit against CNN.

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 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 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.

Zachary Young alleged CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021.

A Florida jury found that CNN liable of defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young on Friday, and awarded him a total of $5 million. The post BREAKING: Florida Jury Finds CNN Defamed Navy Veteran, Awards Him Millions in Damages first appeared on Mediaite.

Day 7 of CNN defamation case brought by Navy veteran U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young alleges CNN smeared him in a November 2021 report suggesting he illegally profited off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Biden administration's military withdrawal.

As the trial in Florida enters its second week, attorneys for Zachary Young, the security consultant named in the CNN story, tried to paint the network as engaging in “theater.”

Alex Marquardt was pressed on Monday about his efforts to dig up dirt on the Navy veteran suing CNN for defamation, undercutting CNN’s defense that the plaintiff was not a central focus of the report.