A 55-year-old man from Texas was taken into custody in Indianapolis on Sunday for allegedly hitting up WNBA star Caitlin Clark with threats and some pretty explicit messages, according to court docs.
Michael Lewis from Denton, Texas, is facing felony stalking charges from Marion County prosecutors. The court files reveal that he sent those messages to Clark on X, previously known as Twitter. Detectives traced the messages back to an IP address linked to a hotel in Indianapolis, as reported by the Indianapolis Star. “Lewis’ presence in Indianapolis was especially concerning given that he is a Texas resident,” detectives said in the affidavit.
RELATED: Caitlin Clark Acknowledges Privilege, Praises Black WNBA Pioneers
Last week, the police reached out to Lewis about those messages. At first, he denied sending anything, but then he admitted it was just “an imaginary relationship,” according to WTHR. The cops advised him to cut it out with the threatening posts aimed at Clark, which he brushed off as “an imagination, fantasy-type thing” and insisted were just “a joke,” not meant to be taken seriously. Still, he didn’t stop and kept sending those messages even after talking to the police.
“Been driving around your house 3x a day,” one of the messages said, according to court documents, via Fox59. “But don’t call the law just yet.”
The police also sat down with Clark, who shared that she’s been “very fearful” ever since she found out about the messages. Those safety concerns pushed her to change her look, tweak her public appearances, and switch up how she moves around.
If convicted, Lewis is looking at one to six years behind bars for a Level 5 felony and could face a fine of up to $10,000. Prosecutors are pushing for him to be banned from Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the Fever usually play.
“No matter how prominent a figure you are, this case shows that online harassment can quickly escalate to actual threats of physical violence,” prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement.
“It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don’t. In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”
