WASHINGTON (AP) — The co-founders of Ben & Jerry's have been arrested at the U.S. Capitol as part of ongoing protests in Washington about the role of money in politics. 
 
 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were among approximately 300 people who were arrested Monday as part of protests by a group called Democracy Awakening. 
 
 The Vermont-based 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. 
 
 Police say they've arrested more than 1,200 people since the protests began April 11. ||||| (CNN) The co-founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream were arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. 
 
 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were among approximately 300 people arrested as part of the "Democracy Awakening" protests that converged on the nation's capital this weekend. 
 
 They are protesting for action on climate change, racial justice, workers' rights and fair pay, safe food and water, health care, peace, immigration reform and improvements in education, according to the website. They believe that voters aren't included in the political process and that Congress has failed to act. 
 
 Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was among approximately 300 people arrested as part of the Democracy Awakening protests that converged on the nation's capital Monday, April 18, 2016. 
 
 Neither "Democracy Spring" nor "Democracy Awakening" is affiliated with a particular party or candidate. 
 
 A statement from the U.S. Capitol Police said the protestors were arrested for unlawful demonstration activities. They were processed on the scene and released, the statement said. 
 
 CNN has reached out to Ben & Jerry's for comment, but it has been tweeting photos about the arrest and created a page that explains its side why the co-founders were arrested. 
 
 Both Ben & Jerry's co-founders have been active about political issues -- particularly Cohen, who has been vocal about his support for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election. 
 
 Their ice cream company is based in Vermont, and Cohen personally endorsed Sanders and participated in the launch of his presidential bid in Burlington. 
 
 Cohen also created 40 pints of the ice cream in his own kitchen in honor of Sanders. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Would you eat this Bernie Sanders ice cream flavor? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Would you eat this Bernie Sanders ice cream flavor? 00:52 
 
 He told CNN's Carol Costello last October that Sanders' ice cream would be mint flavored and topped with a giant chocolate chip that "represents all the wealth that's gone to the top 1% of the population over the past 10 years." 
 
 "And the way you eat it is that you whack it with your spoon, then you mix it around. That's the 'Bernie's Yearning,'" Cohen said. ||||| Web collection contains captured content concerning, communications. Includes the following : Country/Region/Area Websites (Country communication pages): Area-specific content for LDS Area Presidencies to minister, communicate, teach, and strengthen site visitors including members, local leaders and those not of the LDS faith. Concerns countries and areas throughout the world where the LDS (Mormon) Church functions. Mormon Newsroom: Features stories from its international Newsroom websites to share what leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world are doing to better the communities in which they live. This collection contains Newsroom website captures starting 20 Nov 2015-current. Currently, captures for Oct 2013-19 Nov 2015 can be found at https://www.archive-it.org/collections/3943 Public Affairs Department Website and international Public Affairs Offices: Building good will and creating lasting friendships is important to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The Church has public affairs directors throughout the world. From working with government leaders for approvals on a new building, to fostering respectful interfaith dialog and answering questions from the media, public affairs forms a vital bridge between the LDS Church congregations and the communities they call home. Social Media: Includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram sites for countries and international newsrooms. Also includes translation of LDS.org, LDS (Mormon) Church official website, translated into area-specific as well as language-specific sites. See the following live web: Purpose of Country Communication Pages- https://www.lds.org/help/acp?lang=eng ; Who Maintains the Country Communication Pages - https://www.lds.org/help/acp/publishing-content/about-country-communication-pages?lang=eng ; Area Specific - https://www.lds.org/church/news/country-communication-pages-offer-area-specific-content-to-members?lang=eng ; https://tech.lds.org/blog/711-the-beauty-of-the-gospel-shines-in-country-communication-pages ||||| Actress Rosario Dawson takes part in a "Democracy Spring" demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 15, 2016. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP) 
 
 Police have calmly arrested hundreds of people in Washington, D,.C. protesting the influence of money in politics during the last week, in what several participants described as a striking display of restrained law enforcement. 
 
 More arrests are expected Monday, the final day of protests when the focus of the non-violent protests turn to voting rights and timely consideration of the Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court. U.S. Capitol Police have arrested more than 900 protesters through Saturday. 
 
 Mass demonstrations by a group called "Democracy Spring" began last Monday. A related group, "Democracy Awakening," joined the efforts on Saturday and are holding often integrated sit ins and other demonstrations to protest laws it considers discriminatory, such as Voter ID laws. 
 
 "Here what you have is a very professional, carefully calibrated and wonderfully orchestrated means of dealing with law enforcement in Washington," said Cornell Brooks, national president and CEO of NAACP. 
 
 Cornell Brooks, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), speaks during an annual African American History Month Observance Program February 23, 2016 at the Justice Department in Washington, DC. (Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images) 
 
 More often, "it's very different the way young activists who are black and brown are described" and treated, said Brooks, who led the Democracy Awakenings march on Sunday. "Sometimes they are roughed up and assumptions are made that can be very dangerous." 
 
 Those arrested were charged with violating a D.C. statute prohibiting "crowding, obstructing, or incommoding," which are misdemeanors, said police spokeswoman Eva Malecki. All of those arrested were Democracy Spring-related participants. Most were processed and then released on the scene. 
 
 On Sunday, Malecki said demonstrators remained "orderly and respectful," just as they had through the previous week. . 
 
 Democracy Awakening urged their protesters to wear their "Sunday best" and to bring $50 in cash in anticipation of the planned arrests Monday. 
 
 Actress Rosario Dawson said in a video posted on YouTube Friday that the organizers hope to surpass all previous Capitol protest records for number arrested, topping 1,000 by the time the week-long demonstration wraps up. 
 
 The Democracy Spring effort started in Philadelphia, where thousands began a 140-mile walk to the U.S. Capitol to "demand Congress take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice." 
 
 "This week, we're taking back our democracy," Dawson said. Money in politics has "distorted our politics and our issues." Police arrested the actress Friday on Capitol Hill for crowding and obstruction. She was briefly detained and will be required to pay a $50 fine like the others arrested, Malecki said. 
 
 Harvard Law School professor and former Democratic presidential candidate Larry Lessig was arrested Friday — for the first time ever. "I'm a law professor," he said Saturday. "I don't get arrested." 
 
 But he made an exception for the issue that he based his short-lived campaign on: Campaign finance reform. 
 
 Harvard Law School professor and former 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig discusses campaign finance reform at the American Enterprise Institute November 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) 
 
 "I’m so incredibly excited with the kind of passion and the mix of people that were there," said Lessig, noting it's spread beyond the usual "law geeks and intellectuals" who rally around campaign finance reform. 
 
 There was even some bi-partisan support for the demonstrations outside a Capitol building that doesn't see much of it inside lately. John Pudner, executive director of the group Take Back Our Republic, says many conservatives and small business owners also don't feel represented by the big money influencing politics. He joined one day of the 140-mile walk from Philadelphia and another colleague of the group participated in the demonstrations. 
 
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 "We want to see small donors become the focus," said Pudner, who spent 20 years running campaigns, including the one that unseated former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., in 2014. 
 
 Many protesters held up signs protesting the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case. The case opened the door for the rise of newer super PACs — political action committees that can raise unlimited amounts from virtually any source — and contributed to corporate influence in campaigns, critics say. 
 
 Supporters of the activist group 'Democracy Spring,' which have been staging protests for a week at the U.S. Capitol to 'end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections,' gather for a rally on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, USA, 15 April 2016. (Photo: JIM LO SCALZO, EPA) 
 
 Still, it's unlikely Democracy Spring can achieve the kind of attention it desires — it aims to change the course of the 2016 presidential election. But some say the campaign season itself is giving much-needed attention to money in politics. "We're seeing it with the surprising support for Senator Sanders, who has made it a central part of his campaign, and when Trump says he can't be bought. That resonates with people who realize the system is rigged against them." said Wendell Potter, co-author of the new book Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It. 
 
 Democracy Spring's protests in Washington could obscure the fact that people across the country are starting to fight the effects of corporate interests in local elections, Potter said. His cites changes made in Tallahassee, Fla., Seattle and in South Carolina, where lobbyists are now banned from making campaign donations. 
 
 Democracy Spring protesters tend to be left-learning, but Potter said groups including Take Back Our Republic, share the "common concern about what's happened to our democracy." 
 
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– The Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry's were among hundreds of people arrested Monday in a protest at the US Capitol over what they perceive to be a corrupt political system. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were taking part in a demonstration by a group called Democracy Awakening, and they were two of about 300 arrested on Monday, reports CNN. Like most of the others, the ice cream moguls were processed at the scene and released by Capitol Police on misdemeanor charges of "crowding, obstructing or incommoding," reports the AP. The Democracy Awakening movement is related to the larger Democracy Spring movement that has been staging protests in DC over issues such as voter ID laws, campaign financing, and the lack of progress on President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, reports USA Today. Ben & Jerry's is trumpeting the arrests, with the company website saying that the purpose of the protests is "to ensure that every citizen's voice is heard and that power in this country is returned to the people." In all, police have arrested about 1,200 since the demonstrations began on April 11. As for Cohen and Greenfield, they'll be distributing free ice cream at a Bernie Sanders rally in Delaware on Tuesday.