Ben & Jerry’s co-founder arrested after disrupting Senate hearing with pro-Gaza protest

A co-founder of the ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s was arrested Wednesday at a Senate committee hearing that included testimony from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Capitol Police.

Ben Cohen was one of seven people who were arrested at the hearing held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the spokesperson said.

Footage from the incident shows several protesters standing and brandishing signs with one shouting, “RFK kills people with AIDS,” as Kennedy delivered testimony. Moments later, Cohen rose to his feet and accused Congress of playing a role in the deaths of children in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the committee’s chairman, asked that Capitol Police remove the protesters from the hearing room.

Officers physically removed Cohen and six other pro-Gaza protesters, and charged them with crowding, obstructing and incommoding — a misdemeanor offense. It is against the law to protest inside congressional buildings.

All but Cohen also faced charges of resisting arrest and assault on a police office, Capitol Police said.

“That was a made for C-SPAN moment,” Cassidy said, before the hearing resumed.

In a video taken shortly after his arrest that he posted to X, Cohen can be heard repeating his message of protest.

“Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the U.S.,” Cohen said, as he was escorted away in restraints by police.

“Congress and the senators need to ease the siege,” Cohen added. “They need to let food into Gaza. They need to let food to starving kids.”

Cohen has since been released from police custody.

Ben and Jerry’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

Ben & Jerry’s leadership has been critical of the Israeli government over the years. In 2021, the company said it would stop selling its ice cream in the occupied territories.

“We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the company said in a statement at the time.