Puerto Rico protests continue as Governor refuses to resign

San Juan braced on Tuesday for an 11th day of protests calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rosselló over offensive chat messages that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people.

Police fired tear gas to disperse crowds late Monday and early Tuesday while protesters threw bottles and other objects at police, multiple media reports said.

Governor Rosselló has insisted he will not step down as leader of the U.S. Territory over misogynistic and homophobic messages exchanged between him and top aides, but said on Sunday that he would not seek re-election next year.

“I used words that I apologized for but I’ve also taken significant actions in the direction of helping vulnerable sectors,” Rosselló told Fox News, explaining he had made policy changes significant to women and the LGBTQ community.

Those two groups were frequent targets of messages exchanged between Rosselló and his aides in 889 pages of online group chats published July 13 by Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism.

Tuesday marked the 11th consecutive day of protests as government officials around Rosselló keep resigning. Even his own father, former governor Pedro Rosselló, stepped down from positions within their pro-statehood New Progressive Party and disaffiliated himself from it in a severe blow to party members.