Ben & Jerry's cofounder confronts RFK Jr in Gaza protest at Capitol

Washington, United States (AFP) May 14 - Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and longtime progressive activist, was removed from a Senate hearing Wednesday after confronting Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and lawmakers over US support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 14: Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's, is detained by U.S. Capitol Police for disrupting proceedings during a hearing with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kennedy is testifying before the Senate Committee on the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed 2026 fiscal year budget. Samuel Corum/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Samuel Corum / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Kennedy had been reading prepared remarks about his department's 2026 budget when activists interrupted the session, chanting "RFK kills people with AIDS."

Kennedy jumped from his seat in reaction to the outburst.

Cohen then shouted: "Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza," accusing lawmakers of funding arms by cutting Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income families that Republicans are seeking to slash.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 14: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kennedy testified on the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed 2026 fiscal year budget. Samuel Corum/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Samuel Corum / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Video posted by anti-war group Codepink showed the 74-year-old in handcuffs as Capitol Police escorted him from the chamber.

"They need to let food into Gaza, they need to let food to starving kids!" Cohen yelled as he was taken away.

A vocal critic of Israeli policy, Cohen last year co-signed an open letter titled A Statement From Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC, denouncing the pro-Israel lobby's influence in US politics.