A Texas man has been arrested and charged after stalking and sending violent messages to Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark. While the details are chilling enough, court documents also reveal that he threatened her not to go to the authorities.
Michael Thomas Lewis, 55, of Denton, Texas, was taken into custody on Sunday and faces one count of stalking threatening sexual battery or death, classified as a Level 5 felony.
Court documents obtained by Fox59 in Indianapolis allege that Lewis used the social media app X to send sexually violent messages to Clark.
The documents say he then traveled to Indianapolis with the “intent to be in close proximity” to Clark and that messages were sent from an IP address located on W. Market Street in Indianapolis, less than half a mile from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home court of the Indiana Fever.
In a message to Clark, Lewis told her that he drove around Gainbridge Fieldhouse multiple times a day, and offered a vague threat, telling her not to alert authorities.
“Been driving around your house 3x a day,” he wrote, referring to the arena. “But don’t call the law just yet.”
Obviously, this terrified Clark.
Fox59 reports that Clark told police that she’d become quite afraid since receiving the messages and learning Lewis was in Indianapolis, going as far as to alter her public appearances and movement patterns to protect herself.
Lewis, however, denies the allegations. He claimed his trip to Indianapolis was for vacation and described the messages to Clark as “an imagination,” “a fantasy-type thing,” and “a joke.”
During his initial interaction with police, Lewis was warned about his posts and asked not to post messages like he had been posting. However, he continued to send posts to Clark even hours after the interaction with police.
Lewis was arrested and charged on Sunday. If convicted of the Level 5 felony, Lewis could face a prison sentence of up to six years.
