Thames Valley Police have been accused of “harassing” a grandmother over “threatening” online posts after a member of the force visited her in her home.
A video of a police officer visiting Deborah Anderson, an American grandmother and cancer patient, at her home in June was posted to X by campaign group Free Speech Union (FSU).
The officer told Ms Anderson he had come to speak with her about a police report which had been filed against her for offensive comments she made on Facebook.
Thames Valley police said they received a report from a person who “felt threatened” by comments made by Ms Anderson online, including calling the individual a “terrorist” and saying “if the person making the comment was Prime Minister, they would be lined up and shot”.
In the video, Ms Anderson, who is a proud Trump supporter and member of the FSU, told the officer: “You can come in, but you better have a damn good reason for being here.
“I’m a member of the Free Speech Union and I’m an American citizen. I’ll have Elon Musk on you so quick your feet won’t touch.”
The officer told her something she had written on Facebook had “upset someone” and said she could admit to the comments and apologise, or be taken to the station for an interview.
🚨🚨🚨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.
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) September 17, 2025
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
Ms Anderson refused to apologise, instead she said to the policeman: “You’re here because somebody got upset? Is it against the law? Am I being arrested?”
In the video the officer did not tell Ms Anderson which posts had been complained about.
The FSU posted the video to X, which has since gained 5.8 million views, and said: “To make it worse, Deborah is in the midst of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy. She ought to be have been convalescing. Instead, she was harassed for her tweets.
“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.”
In what is believed to be her X bio, Ms Anderson describes herself as a “veteran, MAGA patriot, mother and grandmother”.
After the video took the internet by storm, several X users slammed the force for “harassing” Ms Anderson.
Among them is user @stuartf100 who wrote: “Everyone involved in this needs to be fired!”
Another user, @multiminiparvoj, posted an image of a police officer in the comments and said “I’ve lost all respect for them”, while user @sebserlo said: “This is just harassment”.
On X, Thames Valley Police replied to the video and said: “This video shows one of our officers following up on a report from a person who felt threatened by online comments directed at them.
“After engagement with both parties, no further action was taken. It is our duty to respond to allegations of threats or violence.”
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson told The Standard: “In June, we received a report from a person who felt threatened by comments directed at them online.
"They reported being called a terrorist and that, if the person making the comment was Prime Minister, they would be lined up and shot.
“Following engagement with both parties, 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.”
Attacks calling authorities in the UK the “thought police” have come after one of the country’s largest rallies for free speech took place earlier this month.
The “Unite the Kingdom” march , organised by the right-wing activist known as Tommy Robinson, took place on Saturday September 6, during which around 110,000 to 150,000 people took to the streets of central London.
The nationalist demonstration promoted right wing-views such as anti-immigration rhetoric and called for “free-speech” in England.
Eight people have since been charged with assault and public order offences.
On Thursday, Tommy Robinson took to X to hit out at the policing of “free speech” in the United Kingdom.
Countries with the highest number of arrests for online comments in 2023:
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) September 18, 2025
United Kingdom: 12,183
Belarus: 6,205
Germany: 3,500
China: 1,500
Turkey: 500
Russia: 400
Poland: 300
Thailand: 258
Brazil: 200
Syria: 146
India: 100
Iran: 100
France: 54
USA: 50
Vietnam: 45… pic.twitter.com/cMBEEXnhic
Mr Robinson posted a graphic of a man with a flag across their mouth, featuring the slogan, “do we have free speech in the UK?”
The post contained figures quoted by Robinson, which claim the United Kingdom had the highest number of arrests for online comments in 2023, with 12,183 incidents cited by the right-wing activist, compared to 6,205 in Belarus and 3,500 in Germany.
