Voodoo Doughnut Welcomes Oregon Standoff Leader Ammon Bundy To Portland With His Very Own Cake
Jailed Oregon militia leader Ammon Bundy has been welcomed to Portland with his very own cake, courtesy of the world-renowned Voodoo Doughnut shop.
Bundy, who led the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by a self-identified militia, was arrested earlier this week following a shootout between the group and federal authorities, during which one occupier was killed. Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy, a rancher who has been involved in a 20-year dispute with the government over federally owned land on which Bundy allowed his cattle to graze — leading to another standoff in 2014.
In late 2015, the arrest of ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond, for charges of arson involving federal land, galvanized the younger Bundy and a team of armed men to occupy the wildlife refuge in protest of the Hammonds' arrest. Though the Hammond family has sought to distance themselves from the Bundy family, the militia group said they were prepared for a lengthy holdout.
But following a confrontation with authorities on January 26, Bundy and a number of associates were taken into police custody. One was killed.
In a statement issued through his lawyer, Bundy has since asked any remaining militia members to stand down and "go home and hug your families."
As for the cake that has helped to immortalize Bundy into American history, there is only one, and it is unfortunately not for sale. The cake was dreamed up by Voodoo Doughnut co-owner Kenneth Pogson, who told his doughnut artist Shane Sweeney to depict Bundy behind bars.
"We're trying to avoid politics," Pogson told The Oregonian, "but this whole thing seemed like such a big deal — with them taking public property, armed to the teeth, making a stand that they thought everyone would join. It was a debacle that was on everyone's mind, left or right."
A photo posted by Voodoo Doughnut (@voodoodoughnut) on