The heated argument between Jim Acosta and Michael Tracey escalated when the Secret Service locked down a party at a Substack party next to the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) for hours. The incident occurred at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. The Secret Service was called to the event after the Secret Secret Service allowed partygoers to leave. Tracey accused former CNN correspondent Acosta of threatening to fight him over the release of the Epstein files, criticizing the media frenzy surrounding the media's coverage of possible Trump links. Acosta defended himself by claiming that Tracey was bugging him out of the room and attempting to physically remove him from the event. The Daily Wire's Washington bureau chief Tim Rice described the incident as "the dorkiest little temper tantrum of all time".