(LifeSiteNews) – Thames Valley Police are under fire for a viral video of an officer confronting an elderly American residing in Britain over social media posts that were supposedly “threatening” despite her exact alleged offense never being specified.
The Daily Mail reported that the case concerns Deborah Anderson, a cancer patient and pro-Trump American citizen who in June was visited in her home by an officer in an encounter captured in a viral video.
“’You can come in, but you’d better have a damn good reason for being here. I’m a member of the Free Speech Union and I’m an American citizen,” Anderson said. “I’ll have Elon Musk on you so quickly your feet won’t touch (the floor).”
The officer told her that one of her Facebook posts had “upset someone” and he was there to ask “if you were admitting that it was you who wrote the comment you could just make an apology to the person.” She refused, to which the officer said the “alternative would be that I have to call you in for an interview.”
“Are there no houses that have been burgled recently? No rapes, no murders … why aren’t you out there investigating those?” Anderson asked. “I haven’t broken any laws so you’re going to be wasting your time when you can be instead doing things that are more important (…) I’m a cancer patient. You can see that because I’m bald … I’m a woman living on my own, who has never broken a law in her life.”
Thames Valley Police later issued a statement explaining they “received a report from a person who felt threatened by comments directed at them online,” and after following up “no arrests were made and no further action was taken. While people are entitled to express their views, it is the police’s duty to respond to allegations of threatening language and references to violence.” It did not specify which post of Anderson’s contained any references to threats or violence.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: An American cancer patient and Trump supporter was confronted by British police and told to apologise for her online posts or face an investigation.
Deborah Anderson, a mother of two, was visited at her home in June by an officer from Thames Valley Police. He… pic.twitter.com/CaQZVUScQY
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) September 17, 2025
“The FSU took on her case and, as a result, the police have now dropped their investigation. But they still haven’t told Deborah which of her posts got her into trouble, claiming they’ve accidentally deleted the record of the complaint,” the Free Speech Union said in a statement. “Thames Valley Police (were) responsible for guarding President Trump (last) week. What would he make of the fact that those same officers are visiting the homes of his supporters – including US citizens – and threatening them with arrest.”
Word of the incident follows Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan’s arrest earlier this month over critical comments on gender ideology and infringements on silent prayer and sidewalk counseling outside of abortion facilities.
In May, the Trump administration sent a State Department delegation to England to investigate the free speech situation, including meeting with Livia Tossici-Bolt and Rose Docherty and other similar victims, and report back on their findings to “affirm the importance of freedom of expression in the U.K. and across Europe.”
It remains to be seen how either nation will follow up the exchange. Relations between the U.S. and European nations, including the UK, are currently strained on multiple fronts, including President Donald Trump’s campaign to overhaul international trade agreements and Western nations’ struggle to settle on a unified strategy in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
