Democrats have become the party of rich and bored Baby Boomers. Millionaire co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen was arrested Wednesday after disrupting a Senate committee hearing to protest U.S. military aid to Israel. The 74-year-old activist joined other demonstrators who interrupted a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee session where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was testifying on the federal budget. Capitol Police quickly removed the group, charging Cohen with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding—a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine, writes The New York Times.
In footage circulated online, Cohen is seen being detained as he denounces cuts to domestic programs like Medicaid while Congress funds military operations in Gaza. He called attention to what he described as a looming famine in the region and urged lawmakers to act swiftly to feed starving children.
#BenCohen, co-founder of the popular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand and Jewish-American philanthropist, was arrested amid a pro-#Palestine protest during U.S. Health and Human Rights Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first appearance before lawmakers on Capitol Hill. pic.twitter.com/xpe3oOOXDK
— Mina (@Mina696645851) May 15, 2025
Six other protesters face additional charges, including assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. Cohen was later released from custody.
Cohen and his longtime business partner Jerry Greenfield have maintained a decades-long tradition of left-wing activism, particularly on matters of foreign policy. Though they sold Ben & Jerry’s to Unilever in 2000, the two have remained outspoken. In 2021, they backed the company’s decision to stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements.
That decision triggered political backlash and corporate fallout: Unilever sold Ben & Jerry’s Israeli business to a local distributor, prompting a lawsuit from the brand’s board accusing Unilever of stifling its activism. The case is ongoing.
Neither he nor Ben & Jerry’s has issued a formal statement following the incident.
Good. His ice cream is enormously expensive and sux anyway.