Ben Cohen, the famously liberal co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, was forcibly removed and arrested during a Senate hearing featuring President Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., highlighting the increasingly complicated political realignments happening across America.
Key Takeaways
- Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested for disrupting a Senate hearing featuring Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Seven protesters in total were arrested, with some facing additional charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.
- Cohen’s protest against U.S. support for Israel in Gaza represents the growing divide among progressives and conservatives regarding military interventions.
- Political commentators note this incident reflects a larger trend of shifting political alliances, where figures like Tulsi Gabbard are moving between traditional left and right camps.
- The arrest raises questions about whether conservatives are embracing certain left-wing figures due to shared concerns about government overreach and military engagements.
Ice Cream Magnate Arrested for Disrupting Congressional Hearing
Capitol Police forcibly removed Ben Cohen, 74, after he and other protesters disrupted a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on May 14, 2025. Cohen was among seven individuals arrested for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding” while Secretary Kennedy was delivering his opening statement. Video footage shows Cohen being physically escorted from the hearing room as he continued shouting his protest against U.S. military support for Israel, claiming “Congress pays for bombs” that kill civilians in Gaza while cutting domestic programs.
Senator Bill Cassidy, chairman of the committee, temporarily paused the hearing during the disruption, stating, “Members of the audience are reminded disruptions will not be permitted while the committee conducts its business. Capitol Police are asked to remove the individuals from the hearing room.” After order was restored, Cassidy quipped, “That was a made-for-C-SPAN moment,” before allowing Secretary Kennedy to continue his testimony, which ironically may have aligned with some of Cohen’s own anti-war views.
Corporate Activism Meets Political Reality
This isn’t the first time the ice cream entrepreneur has been arrested for his activism. Cohen was previously detained in 2023 while protesting outside the Department of Homeland Security. After his recent arrest, Cohen took to social media to explain his motivation, stating: “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.” The company he co-founded has maintained its progressive activism even after being sold to Unilever in 2000.
“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,” stated Ben Cohen, Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben & Jerry’s has faced criticism from Republicans for its progressive stances, including its 2021 decision to stop selling products in the West Bank, which it referred to as “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Despite the company’s consistent left-wing positioning, the latest incident has drawn attention not just for the protest itself, but for what it reveals about the changing landscape of American politics, where traditional political lines are increasingly blurred.
Shifting Political Alliances in American Politics
Conservative commentator Stu Burguiere noted that Cohen’s disruption highlighted a peculiar political moment, as the Ben & Jerry’s founder was protesting against Kennedy, who likely shares many of Cohen’s anti-establishment and anti-war views. This strange bedfellows phenomenon has become increasingly common, with political figures traditionally associated with the left finding common ground with conservatives over shared concerns about government overreach and military interventions.
“The Glenn Beck Program” host Stu Burguiere pointed to Tulsi Gabbard as another example of this political realignment, noting her journey from supporting Bernie Sanders to joining the Make America Great Again movement under President Trump. Burguiere expressed concern that conservatives might be unwittingly adopting progressive positions rather than maintaining principled consistency, suggesting that while these new alliances may seem beneficial, they raise questions about ideological drift.
Glenn Beck offered a different perspective, suggesting that conservatives aren’t necessarily abandoning their principles but becoming more aware of certain issues that transcend traditional political boundaries. The Cohen arrest and subsequent discussions demonstrate that in today’s polarized landscape, Americans are increasingly finding issue-specific common ground even while maintaining fundamentally different worldviews – a dynamic that challenges the established political order and creates unexpected moments like a progressive ice cream maker disrupting a hearing featuring a Kennedy serving in a Trump administration.
