The Associated Press is seeking the dismissal of a high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, arguing that the claim lacks legal merit and poses a threat to press freedom.
In a motion filed Monday, the AP asserted that Young’s complaint, which centers on how the news agency characterized his role in evacuation efforts during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, unjustly challenges its right to report on matters of public interest.
Young, who earlier this year secured a legal victory over CNN in a similar defamation case, alleges that the AP went even further than the cable network in portraying him as engaging in illicit conduct. At the center of the controversy is a 2021 article by AP media reporter David Bauder, which stated that “Young’s business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan.” Young contends that such language wrongly implied criminal activity, despite a court having previously ruled that his actions were lawful.
In the motion to dismiss, AP attorneys pushed back forcefully, claiming the lawsuit rests on a “facially implausible contention” that the outlet repeated the same allegations that a jury had already found to be defamatory in CNN’s case. They are asking the court to throw out the suit under Florida’s Anti-SLAPP statute, designed to protect free speech on issues of public concern from meritless legal action.
“This is a classic SLAPP lawsuit,” the filing reads, describing it as a case “that lacks legal merit but threatens to chill speech by imposing crushing legal expenses.” The AP’s legal team also invoked Florida’s “fair report privilege,” which shields news organizations from liability when reporting on official proceedings or legal matters.
Furthermore, the AP argues that its coverage “cannot be reasonably interpreted as defamatory” toward Young or his company, Nemex Enterprises.
Young’s attorneys disagree. Daniel Lustig, representing the veteran, said the AP’s attempt to downplay the language used echoes CNN’s failed defense.
“AP’s position is that words don’t mean what they mean,” Lustig told Fox News Digital. “Zachary Young spent nearly three years fighting that fiction and, after a court ruled in his favor and a jury affirmed it, the matter should have ended. But now he’s back in the same courtroom, facing the same argument from the same law firm, claiming once again that calling someone a smuggler doesn’t actually mean they’re a smuggler.”
According to Young’s legal team, 40 AP articles using the term “smuggling” to describe criminal activity were included in the updated complaint to highlight the term’s typical usage.
The AP has previously labeled the lawsuit as “frivolous.” The case is being heard in Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit Court in Bay County—the same court where Young prevailed against CNN earlier this year.
Young is seeking substantial damages: at least $18 million for economic losses, $50–$75 million for reputational harm, $5–$10 million for emotional distress, and $300–$350 million in punitive damages, per a notice of filing.
