Ben Cohen, co-founder of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream franchise, was one of seven people arrested Wednesday for disrupting a hearing in which Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was testifying before a Senate committee. Cohen has been politically vocal on many issues throughout the years.
Cohen, others protest war in Gaza, Medicaid cuts
Several people, including Cohen himself, posted a video of the protest and arrest on social media. In the video, Kennedy appears startled as several protesters suddenly interrupt the hearing behind him, shouting from the audience before being physically removed by security. The video later cuts to a hallway, where Cohen is being taken away with his hands restrained behind his back. When asked by someone why he is being arrested, Cohen responds, “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the U.S.”
Seven people, including Cohen, were arrested for the protest and charged with a variety of offenses. Cohen and others were charged with the misdemeanor offense of “crowding, obstructing or incommoding,” a charge typically used against disruptive protesters. Some of the other people arrested with him face more serious charges, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.
History of Ben & Jerry’s political activism
Cohen and co-founder Jerry Greenfield started their eponymous ice cream chain in 1978. The two have long been publicly vocal about a variety of progressive causes, including LGBTQ+ rights and environmental issues. The duo sold the Ben & Jerry’s company to conglomerate Unilever in 2000. The deal between the two companies was structured to include safeguards for Ben & Jerry’s continued activism, but the chain’s co-founders have since clashed with the corporate giant over differences concerning political activism. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would no longer sell in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, and the ice cream chain has been advocating for a ceasefire in the current war in Gaza. Ben & Jerry’s recently filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the latter of firing the ice cream company’s CEO because of the chain’s continued political activism.
Contentious hearings for RFK Jr.
The protest disrupted a contentious day of hearings between Kennedy and members of Congress. The Health and Human Services secretary appeared before members of the House Appropriations and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees. Kennedy was questioned about mass layoffs within the department, part of a wider trend, as the Trump administration has been slashing the federal workforce and scaling back or eliminating programs and agencies across the government. Kennedy was also grilled over his long and controversial history of vaccine skepticism, particularly given notable measles outbreaks occurring in Texas and other states. In one telling exchange over whether he would vaccinate his own children for measles, Kennedy — the top health care public official in the country — stated, “I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me.”
One person who Kennedy will probably not take advice from is Cohen, who made his opinion on the Trump administration clear during his protest. As Kennedy and other Trump officials continue to enact a host of controversial policies on everything from health care to foreign policy, it’s likely that more protests like Cohen’s will occur.
