JD Vance’s team have denied knowing about any efforts from police to collect social media information from residents near where he spent his Cotswolds holiday.
Locals near the Hamlet of Dean, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, have claimed police had been door-to-door asking for personal details of residents and social media accounts.
Thames Valley Police have denied officers were instructed to ask residents for social media details, and said they were under “no obligation” to answer any questions.
One local told The Observer: “I know several people refused. We asked them if they were protecting us, or Vance. At least they were honest and said it is for him and that it will all be passed on to the American security people.”
The claims have circulated widely on social media in recent days, and now the vice president’s team has denied being aware of any efforts to collect such information.
“The Vice President’s Office and Secret Service were unaware of any efforts by local police to collect residents' social media information,” William Martin, Mr Vance’s communications director said.
“We greatly appreciate the effort our law enforcement partners put in to keeping the vice president safe, but any questions about security measures are best directed to the law enforcement agency responsible.”
Residents in the vicinity of the 6-acre site Mr Vance was staying on described roadblocks and police door knocks in recent days, as security in the area was on high alert.
Thames Valley Police said it was supporting the US during the vice president’s visit to the area to “ensure the safety of all involved”.
It said: “No officers were instructed to ask residents about their social media accounts or use, and we have received no complaints regarding this.
“To reduce local impact due to temporary road restrictions during the visit, we held brief courtesy conversations with residents to understand their access needs and facilitate safe movement.
“It was made clear that participation was entirely voluntary and that responses would not be shared outside the police force.”
Road closures, sniffer dogs, police and a number of blacked out cars have all been spotted in the area, a marked difference to the usual calm and quaint atmosphere of a Cotswold country retreat.
One woman told The Times the village had seen “one blinking pantomime after the other”. Another told the paper she and a friend had been stopped by police blocking a footpath while walking through the area, and said: “I told the police ‘we are two old ladies, we are hardly terrorists’.”
The vice president has now left the Cotswolds to begin his second leg of his family holiday in Scotland, where he will reportedly spend five days.
He landed at at Prestwick Airport on Wednesday evening before travelling with a large motorcade to the luxury Carnell Estate near Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, where airspace restrictions will remain in place around the estate until Sunday.
He was greeted by dozens of pro-Palestine protesters referencing the US government’s support for Israel amid the starvation and bombardment of Gaza.
Similar protests were seen at a “not welcome” party staged in the Cotswolds earlier this week, where dozens came quipped with banners, cake and plenty of pictures of an unflattering meme of the vice president.
Many placards referenced Mr Vance’s own words, with a woman holding a sign saying “Cotswolds childless cat ladies say go home”, and many quoting his 2016 statement that he was a “Never Trump guy”.
Other more satirical signs read “JD Vance claps when the plane lands” and “JD Vance’s Netflix password is ‘password’”.
One picture was everywhere - an edited image of Mr Vance as a bloated, smooth, bald man staring off into the distance, which has become a commonly-used meme on social media.
Last month, US officials were forced to deny a claim from a 21-year-old Norwegian man who said he was denied entry at Newark Liberty International Airport after border security found the meme on his phone.
“Fact Check: FALSE,” the Customs and Border Protection wrote on X. “Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.”
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