"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A newspaper has asked John McCain's campaign why a black reporter assigned to cover a rally was singled out by security and told to leave a backstage area. Stephen Price, a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, was among four Florida capital press corps reporters behind the scenes at a Panama City rally Friday when a Secret Service agent approached and asked if he were with the national media traveling with McCain. Price said no, and the agent told him he had to leave. Price said he then pointed out that there were other state reporters in the same area, but was still told to leave. The other reporters were white. A Panama City police officer quickly approached with his hand on his holster and asked what the problem was, Price said. At the same time, Palm Beach Post reporter Dara Kam came to Price's defense and was told she also had to leave, Price said. The other two reporters, Alex Leary of the St. Petersburg Times and Marc Caputo of The Miami Herald, weren't removed. Caputo, however, said that initially he also was told he had to leave the area. "Security was tight and was a bit over-controlling, which is par for the course at these events. And, as par for the course, I tried to get near the candidate when I saw another reporter there (Alex Leary). Security tried to throw me out, but I found a McCain staffer I knew and the person vouched for me," Caputo said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. Leary said nobody questioned why he was in the area. He added that he didn't see the exchange Price had with security. The McCain campaign said it asked Secret Service to look into the events. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said it "found that no one from the campaign was involved." Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said two other Florida reporters were removed along with Price and any other reporters who weren't with the national press should have been removed as well. At all campaign events, national and local press are separated for logistical reasons. "Race played absolutely no role in any actions taken by our employees or anybody else in this case," Zahren said. McCain's campaign called Price and Bob Gabordi, the newspaper's executive editor, on Tuesday and apologized. "I accept the apology," Price said. "I definitely wish I was never singled out. I came up there to do a story, that's all I wanted to do is write a story." The campaign said McCain personally would call Price in a few days, according to the newspaper. "It's the right thing for the McCain campaign to do," Gabordi said. "Our issue remains with the Secret Service agent. His actions are still a problem. The senator's campaign has done the right thing and we appreciate that." Price had said he could think of no other reason why he was approached other than his race. He said he had to show his media credentials to get into the area, and that he was there for several minutes before being removed. "It was just a really crazy situation. We were being carted out of there and everyone was looking," Price said, adding that he felt upset and humiliated."