Police arrested the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at the US Capitol on Monday as they protested against the influence of money in politics.
Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen were arrested while participating in the Democracy Spring protests, a two-week series of demonstrations at the US Capitol. Since the protests began on 11 April, 12 people have handcuffed themselves to scaffolding in the building’s rotunda and more than 1,200 people have been arrested.
The demonstrations are not affiliated with any presidential candidate, but are calling on politicians at all levels of government “to commit to fight for reform to save our democracy and ensure political equality”.
US Capitol police said about 300 people were arrested during Monday’s demonstrations for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding”. Those arrested were processed on the scene and released.
In an unusual step for an American corporation, Ben & Jerry’s heavily promoted the arrest of the company’s senior management on social media and in a press release that explained: “why Ben and Jerry just got arrested”.
“It all comes down to a simple idea that we believe in whole-heartedly: if you care about something, you have to be willing to risk it all – your reputation, your values, your business – for the greater good,” the release said.
Greenfield and Cohen were prepared to be arrested, according to the release. “The history of our country is that nothing happens until people start putting their bodies on the line and risk getting arrested,” Cohen said in the statement.
The co-founders were released in time to host a Monday night event at George Washington University, where they gave students free ice cream and spoke to them about politics, including their support for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who inspired a limited edition Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor: Bernie’s Yearning.
Ben & Jerry’s social media accounts have been dominated by coverage of the protests, which have been called Democracy Spring and Democracy Awakening, and some of the company’s board members and employees joined the co-founders at demonstrations on the Capitol steps.
Our co-founders, board members, & employees participating in direct action on Capitol steps for #DemocracyAwakens pic.twitter.com/n2EKrqJZUA
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) April 18, 2016
Since the protests began, more than 1,200 people have been arrested, according to police. This included actor Rosario Dawson, who was briefly detained and paid a $50 fine after being arrested last week.
Monday was the final day of the two-week protests, which failed to get significant coverage in American media. On Saturday, the demonstrations included Democracy Awakening, which organizers said was a “mass mobilization” closely aligned with Democracy Spring that included demonstrations, direct action training and a rally.
The protesters’ plan following 19 April is to “take the non-violent revolution home”.
