Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen has been arrested in Washington DC, after staging a protest during a US Senate hearing to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

On Wednesday (14 May) Cohen, long known for his activism alongside his ice cream enterprise, was charged with “crowding and obstructing” proceedings after interrupting a session of the Senate health, education and labour pensions committee.

The protest came as part of a broader demonstration by campaigners criticising both the US government’s foreign policy and domestic health care cuts.

The incident occurred when protesters disrupted the hearing to object to presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine positions. Cohen then stood up to voice his own demands, focusing on the ongoing Israeli blockage of Gaza, now in its 11th week.

Video footage shared by Cohen on social media platform X shows the 72-year-old being forcibly removed and handcuffed.

As the Ben & Jerry’s founder was escorted out, he told onlookers: “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid in the US.”

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. This was the authorities’ response. pic.twitter.com/uOf7xrzzWM

— Ben Cohen (@YoBenCohen) May 14, 2025

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He added: “Congress and the senators need to ease the siege, they need to let food into Gaza. They need to let food to starving kids.”

Cohen was one of eight protesters charged. If convicted, it is understood he could face up to 90 days in jail or a $500 fine.

The incident comes amid an ongoing court case by Ben & Jerry’s against its owner, Unilever, launched in November, over claims the consumer goods giant has attempted to stifle its socio-political activism and dismantle its board.

In March, in an allegation filed in a US court, the ice cream brand accused its owner of removing its chief executive David Stever, and violating a merger agreement by trying to silence its “social mission” over the business’s advocacy for issues, including public statements about Palestinian refugees amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Last month, Unilever was accused of threatening to stop Ben & Jerry’s foundation funding. The business also made headlines in 2021, when it ended sales in Israeli-occupied Palestine territories, a move supported by the founder who described it as a stand for human rights and justice.

Unilever eventually sold the Israeli arm of Ben & Jerry’s to a local operator that allowed sales to continue under different branding. However, the US ice cream brand subsequently took legal action against Unilever, which was later resolved.

Political activism is a core part of the Ben & Jerry’s brand. In 2023, co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested in Washington over protesting following the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.