When the Secret Service locked down a group of revelers inside a Substack party next to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for hours, things quickly turned into “The Hunger Games.”

Sources inside the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. say police — already dealing with a presidential assassination attempt — nearly got involved when an argument between popular Substackers Jim Acosta and Michael Tracey got overly heated on Saturday night, about 20 minutes after the Secret Service allowed partygoers to leave the Washington bash.

“We turned off the stairs of the Renwick and walked smack into the middle of something. Security and event organizers were escorting Tracey out and saying, ‘You need to leave.’ And Tracey was just absolutely spouting off, ‘I’m not going to leave. F–k you. Get the f–k off of me,’” The Daily Wire’s Washington bureau chief Tim Rice tells Page Six Hollywood. “And there is one woman — I’m not sure if she was from the venue or from Substack— who was very professional and was like, ‘Sir, you need to calm down and leave. If you don’t, I’m gonna get police involved. Eventually, his buddy coaxed him and he left. It was just like the dorkiest little temper tantrum of all time.”

For his part, Tracey offered a version of events on X that was a bit different. He alleged that former CNN correspondent Acosta, “threatened to fight me tonight at the Substack party” in a post. 

Jim @Acosta threatened to fight me tonight at the Substack party

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) April 26, 2026

He then added: “Jim screamed at me, ‘LET’S STEP OUTSIDE’ and I replied ‘OK JIM LET’S GO.’ Then he had the security do his dirty work instead. P—y… And yes he ultimately wanted to fight me over Epstein s–t, I would’ve fought him if security didn’t intervene.”

Tracey is openly critical of the media frenzy surrounding the release of the Epstein files and influencers and Substackers like Acosta who are obsessed with possible Trump links. (Acosta previously said Trump “is freaking out right now over these Epstein files,” and has, “twisted himself into a pretzel on this.”)

Tracey then added on X: “Still have no idea whatever went on with Trump tonight, just know [Acosta] threw a f*ckin’ hissing fit. P*ssy! Jim, meet me in front of the Hampton Inn… Jim, I’m literally waiting for you right now, you piece of sh*t.” He even posted a pic of the chain hotel where he was waiting following the party. 

For his part, Acosta posted on social media of the fracas and Tracey, “you are trash,” and, “We saw what you did at the Substack party. You were bullying [a Miami Herald journalist] in a menacing way and would not let her walk away from you. Your behavior was shameful and ugly… So yes, I stepped in as did several other people, including security, to escort [the journalist]  away from you.”

We saw what you did at the Substack party. You were bullying @jkbjournalist in a menacing way and would not let her walk away from you. Your behavior was shameful and ugly. So yes, I stepped in as did several other people, including security, to escort Brown away from you. https://t.co/5poxFeqwZ4

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 26, 2026

Acosta claimed that Tracey was bugging journo and Substacker Julie K. Brown, who rose to fame for her previous work at the Miami Herald on Epstein.

(Following the brouhaha, Tracey posted on X about Brown: “No one ‘harassed’ you. Liar. Enjoy the bogus Netflix series based on the ‘memoir’ you fabricated quotes for. Probably. Any agents want the proof, DM me.”)

Brown posted on X in response to a Mediaite report on the incident that Acosta, “was a true gentleman who came to my aid last night after Tracey began screaming and blocking me from trying to leave the event. Acosta and several other men had to stand in his way to stop him from following me.” 

Keith Edwards, a popular liberal YouTuber who was at the party, says he wasn’t surprised that tempers flared at the party.

“It got weird because the thing about parties is people are coming and going,” he says. “But they kept us locked in there until there was an all clear. And no one new was coming, and you’re just surrounded by the same people. So, it got to a point where it felt like a middle school dance lockdown.”

Publicist Mitchell Jackson, who reps the likes of Candace Owens and Grimes, was at the Substack party as well, and told us, “We got locked inside by Secret Service… It was nuts.” 

President Trump was evacuated from the high-profile WHCD before briefing the press on the incident — and anchors went into overdrive covering the story live from the scene where one Secret Service agent was shot. 

(You can read The Post’s live coverage for all the latest developments on the ordeal.) 

Clay Travis, host of radio’s top-rated “Clay and Buck Show,” was inside the ballroom and seated when the chaos erupted. “I heard what sounded like gunfire, pop, pop, pop, and then heard security yelling for everyone to get down,” Travis tells Page Six Hollywood. “My wife Lara was already on the ground, so I climbed on top of her and covered her as best I could. When I looked up — we were next to the stage — agents with long guns were there with guns raised scanning the crowd. We were seated with DHS head Markwayne Mullin and they grabbed him and hustled him out. I knew it was serious at that point.”

Despite the traumatic events, NBC and MS NOW both went on with their dueling after-parties last night, and Politico and CNN were planning on hosting their power brunches today.

Before the Saturday night chaos, two of the big three Hollywood agencies had already hosted pre-parties on Friday, while one sat this year out. CAA teamed with Vanity Fair to host its pre-WHCD celebration at the Residence of the Belgian Ambassador for guests including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, CBS News boss Bari Weiss and too many news anchors to list, including Wolf Blitzer, Andrea Mitchell and Don Lemon.

UTA threw its 9th annual DC pre-party at Osteria Mozza as presided over by the agency’s Vice Chairman Jay Sures andNews & Broadcasting heads Marc Paskin and Ryan Hayden. Guests spotted included Dana Bash, Jen Psaki, Tony Dokoupil, Katy Tur, and countless other newsy names.

Also on Friday, Cheryl Hines (sans hubby Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) dropped by the Renegade Women’s Cocktail, where she partied alongside Meghan McCain and Jessica Reed Kraus.

And WME didn’t hold its annual party, but made a donation to the Freedom of the Press Foundation to support the org’s Digital Security Training Program that helps journalists protect themselves and their sources online.