> political protest

The phrasing seems to infer that they were vocally or otherwise disruptive in a way that meaningfully+negatively impacted the conference.

The reality is they had

    handed out copies of an editorial 
    that criticizes the administration's cuts to biomedical research
    ...when they were approached by security guards and police officers

this editorial: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/49/6/901/164764/Mi...