Ben Cohen, a founder of the famously progressive Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand, was arrested Wednesday during a Senate hearing at which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was testifying.
Cohen was among a group of seven people who disrupted a hearing for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, after which they were arrested by United States Capitol Police, per a report from Fox News.
“Members of the audience are reminded disruptions will not be permitted while the committee conducts its business. Capitol Police are asked to remove the individuals from the hearing room,” Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said as the protesters were removed.
The charges faced by the protesters include crowding, obstructing, and incommoding, according to a report from Axios.
Some of the protesters were also hit with charges of resisting arrest or assaulting a police officer.
Cohen, however, did not receive those particular charges.
Cohen shared footage of his arrest and said he was motivated by humanitarian concerns for residents of Gaza, which remains at war with Israel.
“I told Congress they’re killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they’re paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US,” he argued on social media platform X.
“This was the authorities’ response,” he said in an apparent jab at Capitol Police.
This isn’t the first time Cohen has faced arrest. In 2023, the controversial ice cream entrepreneur was arrested while blocking the entrance to the Department of Justice.
During Wednesday’s incident, Kennedy was seen smirking as Capitol Police escorted Cohen and his associates out of the room.
The Cabinet official chuckled when Cassidy quipped, “That was a made for C-SPAN moment.”
Ben & Jerry’s has a reputation of supporting left-wing causes.
The ice cream brand, which was sold to Unilever in 2000, previously ended the sale of its products in the West Bank, asserting that the territory belonged to Palestinians.
