A Tory MSP has accused Shona Robison of threatening him in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
Stephen Kerr said the Deputy First Minister told him that he was going to "fall from a very high place.”
The accusation came after he had been criticised by Green and SNP MSPs for heckling Health Minister Jenni Minto.
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In footage of the incident, which took place after a vote on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Robison can be heard saying “very high fall… from a very high place," though the context is unclear.
He can heard saying the words "desperate" and "that is nonsense, absolute nonsense."
Raising a point of order, Mr Kerr told the Presiding Office: “In the exchanges across this gangway here, before the Cabinet Secretary left their role, I perceive that I was threatened.
“The exact words used were 'I'm going to fall from very high place'. Now that is attested by my colleagues, that is what was said.
“Can I ask you please for some guidance, on whether or not it's at all appropriate for such threats to be made in this chamber between members of this Parliament?”
Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone said MSPs should not be involved in ”any conversation where they're discourteous or disrespectful to one another.”
“I do not know how many more times I can ask colleagues to please bear that extremely important standing order in mind. We’re elected representatives of the Scottish people and it's extremely important that we conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects that.”
Just moments before Green MSP Maggie Chapman had raised a point of order to criticise Mr Kerr’s behaviour.
She asked Ms Johnstone for guidance in relation to the code of conduct’s requirement “to treat each other with courtesy and respect given the repeated heckling from mainly men of mainly women who are on their feet to answering questions.”
She added: “I refer specifically to an incident at topical questions earlier this afternoon, where Stephen Kerr’s repeated interruptions of Jenni Minto, in what was designed, I can only imagine, to try and knock her off her feet, when as a parliament, we should be valuing and welcoming the contribution of women ministers.”
The Presiding Officer said she was “very determined that we will all treat one another with courtesy and respect at all times.”
The SNP has been approached for comment.
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