Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen was among seven people arrested during Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, police confirmed.
The big picture: Cohen, who along with the ice cream company has long engaged in corporate political activism, indicated he was protesting the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Driving the news: Video from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing shows protesters yelling, “RFK kills people with hate!” before police escorted them out.
- Seven people, including Cohen, were arrested on suspicion of crowding, obstructing or “incommoding,” which means inconveniencing or distressing others, according to Capitol Police.
- Some of them, though not Cohen, were also accused of assault on a police officer or resisting arrest, per an emailed Capitol Police statement.
- Cohen was accused of “crowding, obstructing or incommoding,” per the statement.
What he’s saying: Cohen said in a post on X on Wednesday, “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.”
- Sharing video from the incident, he added, “This was the authorities’ response.”
- Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment Wednesday evening.
Zoom out: The ice cream company has taken political positions on a range of issues.
- Ben & Jerry’s announced in 2021 that it would no longer allow its Israeli franchisee to market their ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but would continue to sell it within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
Flashback: Axios on HBO: Ben and Jerry’s Founders on Sales in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
