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

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

Chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt denied that his report about security contractor Zachary Young was a “hit piece.”