Ben & Jerry’s cofounder arrested during F-35 protest
By Tom Garris
March 3, 2018
The cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream was arrested-along with two other people-Saturday, for disorderly conduct by noise.
Ben Cohen was among a group that staged a political demonstration in downtown Burlington.
They had a pickup truck hauling a trailer with heavy audio equipment, playing aircraft takeoff noises.
It was a form of protest to simulate F-35 aircrafts set to come to the South Burlington Airport in 2019.
“We are sorry to disturb people,” Cohen said. “We don’t want to do this, but it’s a disturbance once for people that are going to hear this demonstration.”
Sound levels peaked more than 100 decibels, and police received complaints about the noise.