“I took it as though they were going to hang me with their ropes on my street,” Ms Freeman said. “I was scared. I didn’t know if they were coming to kill me.”

Ms Freeman said that she was left isolated by Mr Giuliani’s actions. Friends and acquaintances grew afraid to be linked to her, she said, and she has felt forced to live a life of seclusion because of lingering fears she will be recognised publicly.

Addressing reporters on Friday, the women said that more lawsuits may be forthcoming for other public figures that had spread lies about them.

“They must be held accountable too,” said Ms Freeman.

“Money will not solve all of my problems,” she continued. “I can’t move home, I will always have to be careful… I miss my home, I miss my neighbours and I miss my name.”