A CNN reporter was reportedly ordered to give up her front-row seat and switch with a journalist seated in the back after clashing with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins refused to switch seats with reporter Chris Johnson on Friday before an official warned if they didn't, the Secret Service would be brought in to resolve it, The Washington Post reported.
Reporters have their seats assigned during White House briefings. Larger outlets are usually seated at the front to make them more visible in video recordings.
The seats were assigned by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) last month and agreed to by White House officials when the briefing room was changed to adapt to COVID-19 social distancing requirements.
During Tuesday's press conference, Trump dismissed a question from another reporter about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying the news was based on an "incorrect" CNN report.
When Collins tried to ask a follow-up question, Trump dismissed her saying "No, that's enough. The problem is, you don't write the truth".
When Collins tried to ask again, Trump replied: "No not CNN. I told you, CNN is fake news. Don't talk to me".
When Collins arrived for Friday's press conference, she was reportedly told she would need to move to the sixth row, but both Collins and Johnson refused, citing the WHCA's guidelines.
The White House declined to comment on why they tried to make the change and whether it was the President's order. The Washington Post reported it appeared to be an attempt by Trump to punish the CNN network for "fake news".
"The WHCA has managed press access to the room for decades, with few objections from the White House. But the White House has now unilaterally sought to assert its authority over reporters twice in the past month," they wrote.
Former White House correspondent Jim Acosta said on CNN the White House's move was "Soviet-style [and] totalitarian-like."
He said it took "almost an act of civil disobedience to foil the White House's plans."
The White House eventually decided not to press on the issue and Trump proceeded with the briefing, but he chose not to answer reporters' questions.
The briefing only took 22 minutes, the shortest one since the regular COVID-19 pandemic updates began.
CNN reported Trump chose not to take questions after recently coming under fire for suggesting disinfectant could be injected into COVID-19 patients to cure the virus.
But over the weekend Trump tweeted: "What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!"
