Robert F Kennedy Jr has apologised for referring to Anne Frank during an anti-vax rant comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.
Mr Kennedy claimed imposing vaccine passports was similar to Nazi Germany in a speech to an anti-vax protest march in Washington DC on Sunday.
“Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could hide in the attic like Anne Frank did,” he told the crowd.
The remarks provoked widespread condemnation.
In a tweet on Tuesday, he said: “I apologise for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors.
“My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.”
The Auschwitz Memorial called Mr Kennedy Jr’s remarks “a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay” on Sunday.
“Making reckless comparisons to the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews for a political agenda is outrageous and deeply offensive.”
CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Mr Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaxxer, was a “lying ignorant menace”.
Mr Kennedy’s apology was met with skepticism, with many pointing out his history of making offensive remarks about the vaccine measures.
“He says even worse stuff than that almost every day,” said lawyer and extremist monitor Ron Filipkowski.
“Interesting that this is the one thing he felt the need to ‘apologise’ for.”
