Zachary Young took aim at the CNN correspondent behind the report a jury found was defamatory against him following a lengthy legal battle against the network.

The matter was resolved just four hours after a Florida jury had found the network liable for defamation and awarded $5 million to security contractor Zachary Young.

A Florida jury has found CNN guilty of libeling a Navy veteran who claimed the network destroyed his reputation. Zachary Young said CNN rendered him “permanently unemployable” when they ran a report that falsely accused him of making money off of helping desperate people flee Afghanistan.

The rare defamation trial involving a major media company could serve as a deterrent to other outlets.

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

A jury in Panama City, Florida on Friday found CNN guilty of defaming a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 story about people paid to rescue endangered Afghans following the Taliban takeover of the country

A US Navy veteran who helped Afghans escape after the Taliban takeover in 2021 has won at least $5m (£4.1m) after a jury said he was defamed by American broadcaster CNN. Zachary Young ran a private security firm,

CNN reached a settlement on Friday with a U.S. Navy veteran who helped evacuate people from Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2021, a judge said on Friday, hours after a jury found the TV news outlet liable for defaming him.

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