TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Romain FONSEGRIVES, "Portland, the ex-utopia of the American left, in the midst of an identity crisis"
Erica Hetfeld stands for a portrait near Shemanski Park in downtown Portland, Oregon on January 25, 2024. In the midst of a presidential election year, Portland's decline is brandished by the conservative press depicting a city ravaged by its progressive ideals, in a state controlled by the left for over 40 years. Hetfeld and her family, victims of a burglary in 2021, has left downtown for an affluent suburb, entrenched behind a security gate. "There are no consequences for criminal behavior, no consequences for using drugs in public," she said. "It has completely destroyed our city." (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)