Election worker tells jury: ‘Giuliani just confused me’

Ruby Freeman, a former election worker in Georgia, sat in a federal courtroom Wednesday and told a jury: “Giuliani just confused me, you know.”

She referred to Rudolph W. Giuliani, who sat a few feet away from her, as she described how her life has been turned upside down since December 3, 2020. That was the date on which Mr. Giuliani, then President Donald J. Trump’s personal attorney, instructed his millions of social media followers to watch a video of two election workers in Fulton County, Georgia, claiming without any basis that they were Mr. Trump cheated while they were counting the votes on Election Day.

The workers were Mrs. Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss.

Ms. Freeman, who is black, recounted what followed: a barrage of threats, accusations and racism; messages from people saying she should be hanged or lynched for treason; people who fantasized about hearing the sound of her neck snapping.

They found her at her home. They sent messages to her work email and social media accounts. They called her phone so many times that it crashed, she said.

The harassment became so bad that the FBI told Ms. Freeman that she was not safe in the home where she had lived for years. She was staying with a friend until she felt she was endangering that friend after law enforcement officials told her they had arrested someone who had her name on a death list.

Ms. Freeman’s name had become a rallying cry in the conservative news media, embodying a conspiracy theory that Trump supporters embraced as they tried to keep him in power.

“This all started with one tweet,” Ms. Freeman said on Wednesday, the third day of a trial to determine what compensation she and Ms. Moss deserve from Mr. Giuliani. Judge Beryl A. Howell previously ruled that Mr. Giuliani spread lies about them, deliberately inflicted emotional distress on them and conspired with others as he led efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power.

Ashley Humphreysa professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism who testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs told the jury that the price tag for repairing the damage to their reputation would be between $17.4 million and $47.4 million lie.

Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Sibley IV, has said the amount of damages would be the civil equivalent of the death penalty — a description by Judge Howell called ‘hyperbolic’.

Although officials in Georgia quickly dismissed the allegations against the two women, and a years-long investigation cleared them of wrongdoing, Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss said they are still suffering the consequences.

Ms Freeman said she could no longer use her name, which made things difficult when she bought a new house and had to register for utilities. She wears a mask and sunglasses when she is in public.

“Sometimes I don’t know who I am,” she said. “What’s my name today?”

After purchasing her new home, Mrs. Freeman had security cameras installed everywhere. She said the neighbors are friendly, but she keeps to herself to avoid introductions.

“My life is just a mess,” she said as her testimony came to an end. “It’s just really a mess, all because someone messed me up, just tweet my name to their millions of followers.”

Mr Sibley refused to cross-examine Ms Freeman. Mr. Giuliani’s defense begins Thursday, when he is expected to testify.