Day after arrest Ben & Jerry headed to Wilmington
A day after being placed in handcuffs by Washington D.C. police, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, will serve ice cream to supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at the Wilmington Riverfront
Cohen and Greenfield are scheduled to appear at 5 p.m. at the Hare Pavilion at the Wilmington Riverfront, 815 Justison St. The famous Vermonters will serve ice cream as they mingle with Delawarean supporters of Sanders, the campaign said in announcing the event. Sanders himself will be at a similar campaign event in University Park, Pennsylvania Tuesday evening.
The ice cream entrepreneurs' visit comes one day after the duo was arrested at the U.S. Capitol as part of ongoing protests in Washington about the role of money in politics.
Cohen and Greenfield were among approximately 300 people arrested Monday during a demonstration by a group called Democracy Awakening. Although arrested, the two were not jailed, and they will arrive at the Riverfront event as scheduled, a Sanders campaign staffer said.
The ice cream company’s website says the purpose of the protests is to make sure everyone’s voice is heard “and that power in this country is returned to the people.”
U.S. Capitol Police say those arrested were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, which is unlawful demonstration activity. They were processed on the scene and released.
Actress Rosario Dawson was among hundreds arrested at similar protests Friday.
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Cohen and Greenfield founded their ice cream company in Burlington, Vermont, and have created a flavor, Bernie's Yearning, named after Sanders, who has represented the state in the U.S. Senate since 2006. They've made various campaign appearances for Sanders.
The Delaware primary is April 26. Democrats have 21 pledged delegates, and Republicans have 16 pledged delegates.
Former-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton leads Sanders in the Democratic race for pledged delegates, 1,289 to 1,045. Pledged delegates are distributed based upon the candidates' performances in state caucuses and primaries. Sanders and Clinton are also vying for 719 so-called superdelegates, which are composed of elected officials and party insiders.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Wilmington. Over the weekend, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter also canvassed for Clinton in Delaware.
The Sanders campaign earlier this month opened an office at 900 Philadelphia Pike near Bellefonte for Delaware operations. Clinton operations are housed at 2 Mill Road in Wilmington.
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island also are holding primaries on April 26.
Also on Tuesday, voters are taking to the polls in New York to decide how its delegates will be distributed among the Democratic and Republican candidates.