Navy Vet Targets The AP For Defamation

Zachary Young, a U.S. Navy veteran and security consultant, is suing the Associated Press (AP) for defamation over a January 17, 2025, article by reporter David Bauder. The article covered Young’s successful defamation lawsuit against CNN, where he won $5 million in January 2025 for a 2021 report that falsely implied he illegally profited from a “black market” scheme to evacuate Afghans during the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021. 

The AP article stated that Young’s business “helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan,” a claim Young and his legal team argue is false and defamatory, as it implies criminal conduct.

Young’s lawsuit, filed in April, in Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit Court in Bay County, alleges that the AP’s use of the term “smuggling” falsely branded him as a criminal, despite a prior court ruling in the CNN case affirming he committed no crimes. 

Zachary Young

His attorneys, Daniel Lustig and Michael J. Pike, argue that the AP acted with “actual malice” by publishing this statement, knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth, especially given the court’s prior findings. They cite 40 other AP articles where “smuggling” describes illegal activities like human trafficking or drug operations, reinforcing the term’s criminal connotation.

Young is seeking nearly $500 million in damages, including $18 million for economic loss, $50-75 million for reputational harm, $5-10 million for emotional distress, and $300-350 million in punitive damages. His legal team claims the AP’s article caused further damage to his reputation and business, Nemex Enterprises, which conducted legal evacuations funded by sponsors like Bloomberg and Audible, not by charging Afghans directly. 

The lawsuit notes that outlets like U.S. News & World Report, WTOP News, and The Minnesota Star Tribune retracted their republications of the AP article after receiving complaints, while the AP has refused to retract or correct its story.

The AP has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that its reporting is protected by Florida’s fair report privilege and anti-SLAPP statute, which shield the press from lawsuits aimed at chilling free speech.

The AP contends the article was a factual report on Young’s CNN verdict and portrayed him positively as vindicated, not as a criminal.