On January 11, 2021, Ben & Jerry’s issued a powerful statement regarding the events of January 6, 2021. They asserted that what transpired was not a mere protest, but a riot aimed at upholding white supremacy. According to the statement, “It was allowed to happen. The mostly white insurrectionists roamed freely and without consequence through the heart of our democracy.”

Ben & Jerry’s emphasized that the riot’s permissiveness was inherently linked to the race of the participants. They highlighted the stark contrast in how the rioters were treated compared to how Black, Brown, or Indigenous people would have been treated in a similar scenario. The company argued that the leniency shown to the insurrectionists was due to their whiteness.