Summary: As was already pointed out before, you cannot appease a mob by talking back to it, certainly not by issuing an apology (putting oneself in a position of weakness)

Bonus: They updated their petition 5 days ago (as shown above, contrary to what they had said to people whose names they won't remove or people who asked for amendments), but they've still not corrected it by removing defamatory statements from it, just adding more zeal and issuing another extortionate call for removal. The lack of integrity and disregard for facts is up on display...