'So sorry': US ambassador to India apologizes for desecration of Gandhi statue in DC

After protesters vandalized the Mahatma Gandhi Statue in Washington, D.C., the U.S. ambassador to India issued the nation an apology.

"So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC," Ken Juster tweeted on Thursday. "Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better."

Protesters around the world marched in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in late May. Floyd died after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers involved with Floyd's detainment were charged with aiding and abetting to murder and manslaughter.

Some protesters vandalized several statues and memorials around the world during the rallies over the weekend, including a statue of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln in London as well as memorials dedicated to the world wars.

The statue of Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy also fell victim to desecration and is now covered in a cloth. Juster's apology comes after officials of the Indian Embassy informed the State Department and registered a complaint with local law enforcement agencies, according to the Hindustan Times.

Johnson Myalil, the district chapter president of the Indian Overseas Congress, wrote in a letter to David Vela, acting director of the U.S. National Parks Service, that Myalil's group would bear the cost of repair for the statue.

“We learned with great sadness that the Mahatma Gandhi Statue, on Massachusetts Ave and 21st Street NW, across the Embassy of India in Washington, DC, has been vandalized early this week,” Myalil wrote. “I want to let you know that my organization is willing to bear the cost associated with the restoration of the statue.”

Myalil also told the American Bazaar that the chapter was "outraged" by the vandalism.

"It is unfortunate that Gandhi has been under attack both within and outside India," he said.