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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Latest on the obscene tirade that Gov. Paul LePage left on a lawmaker's voicemail (all times local):
1:05 p.m.
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is dismissing calls from Democrats that he should resign in the wake of an angry tirade he left on the voicemail of a political opponent.
The governor held a news conference Friday in Augusta where he again defended himself for leaving the vulgar voicemail on the phone of Democratic Rep. Drew Gattine.
LePage says Gattine calling him a racist was more offensive than anything he said in response. Gattine denies calling LePage a racist.
At a separate news conference in Portland, Assistant House Democratic Leader Sara Gideon called for a "political intervention" from members of both parties to either ensure that the governor "gets the help that he needs" or that he's removed from office.
Gideon says LePage's behavior is inappropriate for "any human being who's functioning normally in society."
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12:20 p.m.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage is apologizing to "the people of Maine" for leaving a vulgar voicemail for a Democratic legislator and says he was using a metaphor when he said he wished he could challenge the lawmaker to a duel.
LePage said in a written statement Friday that he takes it "very seriously" when someone calls him a racist and that it made him "enormously angry" when he heard from a reporter that Rep. Drew Gattine (gah-TEEN') had called him one.
Gattine denies calling LePage a racist.
LePage says being called a racist is "the absolute worst, most vile thing you can call a person." So he says he referred to Gattine as a vulgar name involving oral sex because it was the "worst word" he could think of.
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10:45 a.m.
Police have received a citizen complaint about the voicemail left by Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage on a Democratic state lawmaker's voicemail.
LePage left an obscenity-laced phone message Thursday morning for Rep. Drew Gattine (gah-TEEN') that said, "I am after you." He later told reporters that he wished it were 1825 so he could challenge Gattine to a duel and point a gun between his eyes.
LePage said in the message that he wanted to talk with Gattine about the legislator calling him a racist. Gattine has denied calling LePage a racist.
A Westbrook police official said the complaint came from someone who didn't live in the city. It's unclear if there will be an investigation.
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9:45 a.m.
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has unleashed an obscene tirade on a Democratic legislator, leaving him a message that said "I am after you" and telling reporters he wished he could point a gun between the legislator's eyes.
Rep. Drew Gattine (gah-TEEN') told The Associated Press that LePage sounded unhinged in the Thursday morning voicemail. In the voicemail, LePage said he wanted to talk with Gattine about the legislator calling him a racist. Gattine has denied calling LePage a racist.
LePage was accused of making racially insensitive comments at a town hall in North Berwick on Wednesday, when he said most of the drug dealers arrested in the state are black or Hispanic.
House and Senate Democrats on Friday questioned LePage's capacity to lead. LePage's office didn't immediately comment.
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