Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives as Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl defends during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Seattle. (AP File)

- A 55-year-old Texas man is charged with with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
- Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of Clark beginning on Dec. 16.
- Lewis posted numerous messages on Clark's X account, according to a sheriff's office affidavit.
Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Authorities in Indianapolis have charged a 55-year-old Texas man with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.
Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning on Dec. 16, the Marion County prosecutor’s office wrote in a court filing Saturday. Jail records show Lewis is due in court on Tuesday.
Lewis posted numerous 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 the Gainbridge Fieldhouse — one of the arenas where the Fever plays home games — three times day, and in another he said he had “one foot on a banana peel and the other on a stalking charge.” Other messages directed at Clark were sexually explicit.
The posts “actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened” and an implicit or explicit threat also was made “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual battery,” prosecutors wrote in the Marion County Superior Court filing.
Related Story: Caitlin Clark Honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year
FBI Tracks Down Account, IP Addresses
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 downtown public library.
Indianapolis police spoke with Lewis on Jan. 8 at 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: “Just the same reason everybody makes posts,” according to court documents.
He told police that he didn’t mean any harm and that he fantasized about being in a relationship with Clark.
“It’s an imagination, fantasy type thing and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening,” he told police, according to the court documents.
In asking the court for a higher than standard bond, the prosecutor’s office said Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent to be in close proximity to the victim.”
The prosecutor’s office also sought a stay-away order as a specific condition if Lewis is released from jail ahead of trial. Prosecutors requested that Lewis be ordered to stay away from the Gainbridge and Hinkle fieldhouses where the Fever play home games.
RELATED TOPICS:
Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers
5 hours ago
Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think
5 hours ago
Warren Buffett Offers Trump Some Advice While Celebrating Berkshire’s Success
5 hours ago
Wolfie the Handsome Pup Seeks Loving Home After Life in the Wild
6 hours ago
National Park Service Restores Some Jobs of Those Fired, Will Hire 7,700 Seasonal Workers
6 hours ago
Is That Legal? A Guide to Trump’s Big Moves So Far.
8 hours ago
Hotels Are So Last Year – Why Everyone’s Sleeping in Castles, Caves and Cranes
8 hours ago
With Trump’s Prostration to Putin, Expect a More Dangerous World
8 hours ago
Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington
4 hours ago
Categories

Kash Patel Plans to Move Up to 1,500 Workers Out of Washington

US and Ukraine Nearing Rare Earths Deal That Would Tighten Relationship

Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers

Less Is More: 5 Ingredient Dinners Are Easier Than You Think
