Overview
- The removals occurred on Friday, June 5, when Louisiana State Police troopers and on-site security escorted five registered scientists out of the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in New Orleans after they handed out printed copies of an editorial.
- The group included Steven Kahn, editor in chief of the ADA journal Diabetes Care and a co-author of the editorial, and participants say the distribution was outside a planned NIH director keynote that an NIH official later canceled.
- Video and participant accounts show officers physically pushing attendees and security ripping copies from people’s hands, though Louisiana State Police said no one was arrested and the individuals left peacefully.
- The ADA said the scientists were asked to stop behavior that violated the conference code of conduct and were given the chance to cease before being escorted out, and Kahn has formally asked to be readmitted to fulfill scheduled speaking and chairing duties.
- The editorial criticizes the Trump administration’s requested roughly $5 billion cut to the NIH 2027 budget and other changes to HHS and NIH since January 2025, and the episode has intensified debate over editorial independence, academic expression, and law enforcement at professional meetings.