MS NOW, CNN and Politico say their journalists were denied access to White House after Trump ban

NEW YORK (AP) — Reporters from three major news organizations — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — were denied access to the White House on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said he was barring them because of reporting he found to be "fake news."

The actions were a clear escalation of Trump's long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump had said Friday he would ban all three outlets because of coverage he disliked.

WATCH: Trump says he's banning 3 outlets from White House in his latest attack on press freedom

White House reporters from the two cable networks — Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW — both went live to report they'd been turned away when arriving for their jobs at the White House. Soon after, Politico said its White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and had her badge confiscated.

Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger said in a statement to the Politico newsroom: "We stand by her and all reporters here covering the White House. … We will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights."

CNN and MS NOW issued similar statements. "We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account," CNN said.

"The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars," MS NOW said in its statement. "MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy."'

In his second term, Trump and his administration have upped the ante and punished certain media outlets, both in the courtroom and through regulatory action. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms — insulting them in briefings, or in his recent speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Network correspondents are usually present on the weekends when the president is in Washington or at nearby Camp David. Trump is at the presidential retreat in Maryland this weekend.

MS NOW's Gardner reported that she had walked through two gates successfully, but once she got to where her badge needed to be scanned, an officer told her it was disabled and asked her to hand it over. He said the decision "was above him," she reported. An MS NOW producer was able to get in, but a photographer's badge was also disabled, Gardner said.

Klein, senior White House reporter at CNN, also said her badge had been deactivated. It was confiscated, and she was handed back the clear plastic case.