Ben Cohen, the co-founder of the ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested Wednesday after confronting U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., slamming the U.S. policy related to Gaza, according to a video of the arrest shared on social media.
Cohen, a longtime activist and philanthropist, interrupted a hearing on Capitol Hill as Kennedy faced questions from the lawmakers.
"Congress sent the bombs that kill children in Gaza and pays for it with cuts to Medicaid," Cohen shouted at the hearing before he was arrested by Capitol Police.
According to NBC News, Cohen was one of seven protesters forcibly removed from the hearing and charged with the misdemeanor offense of Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding, which prohibits demonstrations inside congressional buildings.
The Ben & Jerry's co-founder also posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying: "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 U.S.. This was the authorities' response."
According to U.S. media reports, Cohen is said to have been arrested earlier in 2023.
Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, filed a lawsuit last November, claiming that its parent company has silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and threatened to dismantle its board and sue its members over the issue. Earlier that year, Unilever said it would spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, by the end of 2025 to simplify its holdings.
Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, and like several other Western brands, it has been under fire for its perceived support of Israel following the recent Gaza crisis.
The U.S. government, a staunch ally of Israel, has continued to provide military support to Israel, with several defense packages approved under the former Biden administration despite the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing over 53,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on the enclave.
