The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, the famous ice cream company, was dragged out of a Senate committee hearing in handcuffs for protesting the war in Gaza.
Ben Cohen, 74, was charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, a misdemeanor offense, after he disrupted Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s opening statement to the Senate health committee. Six other protesters were charged with crimes like assaulting police and resisting arrest.
As he was being escorted out, Cohen criticized Congress for sending weapons to Israel and called for an end to the blockade of Gaza, which has left many Palestinians without food.
“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 said. "They need to let food to starving kids."
This is not the first time Cohen has been arrested for protesting. In 2023, he was arrested for protesting in support of Julian Assange.
Cohen and his business partner Jerry Greenfield are known for their progressive activism and support of Vermont Sen. and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in particular.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry's controversially ended sales in the Israel-occupied West Bank, calling business there "inconsistent" with the company's values. The co-founders, who are both Jewish, defended the move in an article for the New York Times.
“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.
Ben & Jerry's political advocacy has led to clashes with its parent company Unilever, which was recently sued by the ice cream brand over the firing of its chief executive David Stever.
"Ben Cohen takes stances as an activist citizen on issues he finds personally important," Unilever told BBC after Cohen's recent arrest. "These actions are on his own as an individual and not on behalf of Ben & Jerry's or Unilever."
Over 53,000 people, including many children, are believed to have died in Israel's Gaza offensive since the conflict began. In March, Israel imposed a total blockade and relaunched its bombing campaign, ending a brief cease-fire. Israel is currently escalating its airstrikes in an effort to pressure and ultimately destroy Hamas, which continues to hold hostages taken in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, assault that started the war.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has become concerning to President Trump, who notably did not stop in Israel on his travel through the Middle East this week, the first major foreign trip of his second term. Trump briefly commented on the blockade in Gaza as he wrapped up his trip on Friday.
"We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving," Trump said.
