Authorities in Indianapolis have charged a 55-year-old man from Texas with stalking Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark.
Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of continuously harassing 22-year-old Clark beginning Dec. 16, the Marion County prosecutor's office wrote in a court filing Saturday. Jail records show Lewis is expected in court Tuesday.
Lewis posted several messages on Clark's X account, according to an affidavit from a Marion County sheriff's lieutenant.
In one, he said he had been driving by Gainbridge Fieldhouse – one of the fields where the Fever play home games – three times a day, and in another he said he had “one foot on a banana peel and the other on stalking charges. .” Other messages aimed at Clark were sexual.
The messages “actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel intimidated, intimidated, intimidated or threatened” and an express or implied threat was also made “with the intent to put Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual battery” ,” prosecutors wrote in the Marion County Superior Court. Court registration.
The FBI learned that the X account belonged to Lewis and that the messages were sent from IP addresses associated with an Indianapolis hotel and a downtown public library.
Indianapolis police spoke with Lewis on Jan. 8 in his hotel room. He told officers he was in Indianapolis on vacation. When asked why he was making so many posts about Clark, Lewis replied: “Exactly the same reason everyone makes articles,” according to court documents.
He told police he meant no harm and that he wanted to be in a relationship with Clark.
“It's an imaginary thing, a fantasy and it's a joke, and it has nothing to do with a threat,” he told police, according to court documents.
In asking the court for a higher-than-usual bond, the prosecutor's office said Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intention of being close to the victim.”
The prosecutor's office also requested a stay-away order as a special condition if Lewis is released from prison before the trial. Prosecutors requested that Lewis be ordered to stay away from the Gainbridge and Hinkle ranches where the Fever play home games.
The Associated Press was unable to determine Monday whether Lewis has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.
Fever officials have not responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
The Associated Press named Clark the Female Athlete of the Year for 2024. After leading Iowa to last year's national championship game, she was the top pick in the WNBA draft and went on to win honors won the rookie of the year in the league.
