American charged with stalking WNBA and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark | Basketball news
Clark told police she feared for her safety and changed her appearance in public after receiving messages on X.
Police in the US state of Indianapolis have charged a Texas man with a felony for stalking women’s NBA superstar Caitlin Clark.
Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeatedly and continuously harassing Clark, 22, beginning Dec. 16, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office wrote in a court filing Saturday. Jail records show Lewis is due in court Tuesday.
Lewis posted numerous messages on Clark’s X account, according to an affidavit from Marion County Sheriff’s Lt.
In one, he said he drove by Gainbridge Fieldhouse – one of the arenas 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 a stalking charge”. Other messages sent To Clark, they were sexually explicit.
The posts “actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened,” and the implicit or explicit threat was also made “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual assault,” prosecutors in Marion County Superior Court wrote. . Court report.
Lewis could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
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 posting so many posts about Clark, Lewis replied, “It’s the same reason everyone posts,” according to court documents.
He told police he meant no harm and fantasized about a relationship with Clark.
“It’s imagination, fantasy and a joke, and it has nothing to do with a threat,” he told police, according to court documents.
Asking the court for a higher-than-standard bail, prosecutors said Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intention of being in close proximity to the victim.”
Prosecutors also sought a removal order as a special condition if Lewis is released from prison before trial. Prosecutors asked that Lewis be ordered to stay away from Gainbridge and Hinkle halls where the Fever play home games.
In response to the threats, Clark told police she feared for her safety and had changed her appearance in public.
“It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in cases like this, which is why many don’t,” said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, according to The Indianapolis Star.
“In doing so, the victim sets an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”
Clark, 22, was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after a storied career at Iowa. She earned All-Star and All-WNBA honors and was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season.
