NEW ORLEANS — Members of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) were escorted by police out of the convention center in New Orleans during the organization’s annual meeting on Friday as they handed out copies of an editorial criticizing Trump administration changes to U.S. biomedical research.
Among them was Steven Kahn, MBChB, the lead author of the editorial, which published online in late April in the organization’s flagship journal, Diabetes Care. Kahn is also the editor in chief of the journal.
Kahn, Aaron Kelly, PhD, past ADA president Desmond Schatz, MD, Justin Ryder, PhD, Irl Hirsch, MD, and at least one other member were handing out printed copies of the editorial outside of a keynote speech given by an NIH official. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, was supposed to give the talk, but pulled out at the last minute, Kahn told MedPage Today.
Kahn said ADA leadership had inserted a statement in the editorial that the organization “had nothing to do with the writing of this manuscript. That is their insert.”
ADA’s media team said that five registrants were removed for violating code of conduct rules that they agreed to when registering for the meeting.
“These attendees were escorted out by our onsite event security because they demonstrated behavior not consistent with this code of conduct,” according to the statement. “They were respectfully given the opportunity to cease this behavior and chose not to which is why they were escorted out.”
The code of conduct “ensures that the meeting remains safe, productive, and centered on advancing diabetes science,” according to the media team.
A video taken by MedPage Today shows Kelly, a pediatric obesity expert from Minnesota, being shoved by an officer wearing a badge of a local Constable’s office, with Louisiana State Police following close behind. A plainclothes security agent rips the editorials from Kahn’s hands.
Kahn is then asked to step outside with the officers and security detail.
In a separate video provided to MedPage Today, Kahn and Ryder were shown outside of the convention center talking with police after they were escorted outside. Kelly, who was also outside taking the video, said they were “threatened to be arrested for handing out the editorial.”
“They physically grabbed us, forced us out of the conference center, and now are telling us we can no longer attend this meeting. They’re taking our lanyards,” Kelly said.
“It really has come to this in America. Censorship is real,” said Kelly. “America needs to stand up. Scientists, stand up. Physicians, stand up.”
In a text message to MedPage Today, Kahn said he and colleagues subsequently walked to another part of the convention center and “they caught up with us again and told us if we come in again we will be arrested.”
Kahn said he has written to ADA to be allowed to re-enter the meeting as he is due to give a talk, present a poster, and chair a session.
The editorial, which was co-authored by John Buse, MD, PhD, and others, is titled: “Misguided Brushes of a Pen Continue to Dismantle and Destroy Biomedical Research in the United States: We Can No Longer Afford Complacency and Fear. We Must All Act Now!”
It criticizes the Trump administration’s requested 2027 budget that seeks a $5 billion reduction to NIH, along with the numerous changes to HHS and the NIH made since January 2025. It also details the many impacts to diabetes research funding since that time.
“There is an urgent need for all of us to bring attention to these destructive processes and halt them before the ongoing and proposed dissolution and destruction of critical components of our biomedical research infrastructure are completed. Enough is enough!” the editorial stated.
“It is no longer enough to stand idly by or work behind the scenes with lawmakers. Moreover, it is no longer appropriate to fret about political backlash,” it continued. “Now is the time to recognize and fight to reverse the spiraling fall of the United States of America’s status as the foremost nation in health care innovation.”
