Ben Cohen, co-founder of the well-known ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s, was taken into custody in Washington, D.C., after he disrupted a Senate committee hearing to protest U.S. military aid to Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Cohen, 74, participated in a demonstration that interrupted a Senate health committee session, during which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was advocating for President Trump’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
As Kennedy delivered his remarks, demonstrators shouted and held up signs, prompting Capitol Police to remove them from the chamber, according to a recording of the event. In a video posted to social media by Cohen, he is shown being detained with his hands behind his back.
“I said that Congress is paying to bomb poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the U.S.,” Cohen stated in the video. He also urged lawmakers to take action to improve access to food in Gaza, where famine warnings have been issued by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations.
“They need to let food to starving kids,” he added.
According to a statement from Capitol Police, Cohen was charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding — a misdemeanor offense that carries a possible penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. Police confirmed that six others were also arrested on charges that included assaulting law enforcement and resisting arrest. Cohen has since been released.
Cohen and fellow co-founder Jerry Greenfield have long used their platform to speak out on social and political issues, including their criticisms of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Though they stepped back from day-to-day operations after selling the company to Unilever in 2000, both have remained publicly engaged, as has the brand itself, according to The New York Times.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, citing a conflict with the company’s values. In a New York Times Opinion essay published that same year, the Jewish co-founders defended the move.
“As Jewish supporters of the State of Israel, we fundamentally reject the notion that it is antisemitic to question the policies of the State of Israel,” they wrote.
The company’s stance drew backlash in Israel and contributed to a drop in sales for Unilever, which eventually sold the Ben & Jerry’s franchise in Israel to a local operator. In March 2024, Unilever revealed plans to spin off its ice cream division, including Ben & Jerry’s, as part of a cost-cutting strategy.
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever, alleging that the parent company dismissed its CEO over the brand’s political activism and interfered with its efforts to support Palestinian refugees. Unilever has denied the allegations and is seeking dismissal of the case.
