Ben Cohen, co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s, was kicked out of a Wednesday senate hearing and arrested for disruption. The hearing featured Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and was focused on the 2026 HHS budget. Cohen and six other pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted the meeting with shouts and displays of pro-Palestinian signs, leading to their prompt arrest by Capitol police.
While Secretary Kennedy was speaking, some protesters shouted repeatedly, “RFK kills people with [inaudible word]!”
As Cohen was being detained and handcuffed, someone recording the incident asked him why he was there:
“Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the US,” Cohen replied. “They need to let food into Gaza, they need to let food to starving kids. Congress is paying to bomb poor kids in Gaza…”
Cohen was at the US Capitol protesting against the war in Gaza earlier that day:
“We are expected to be good Americans and look the other way as Israel prevents food, water, and medicine from reaching the remaining people of Gaza,” Cohen stated at that time. “Israel is literally starving them to death. We will not look away. We will not be silenced. We will do everything we can to get our government to stop being complicit in starving little kids to death.”
Cohen and fellow protesters were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding inside of a congressional building. These charges, which are misdemeanor offenses, could result in a punishment of 90 days in jail or a fine of $500.
Cohen, who has been released from police custody, defended himself Thursday on X.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it will no longer sell ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory – that is, the Gaza Strip and West Bank regions that are presently owned by Israel. This prompted controversy with their parent company Unilever who is clamping down on political statements issued by Ben & Jerry’s. In January, the ice cream company sued Unilever for “threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel should the company speak out regarding issues that Unilever prefers to censor.”
