A Texas man was arrested in Indianapolis and accused of stalking WNBA star Caitlin Clark, authorities said Monday.
Michael Thomas Lewis, a 55-year-old resident of Denton, faces one count of stalking for allegedly engaging in “course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of Caitlin Clark that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized,” Marion County prosecutors said in a complaint.
From Dec. 16 to Jan. 2, Lewis, who was arrested Sunday in Indianapolis, used X to send a series of vulgar, sexually charged messages to the WNBA’s rookie of the year, prosecutors said.
Police were able to trace Lewis through an IP address, linking him to the Hilton Garden hotel at 120 W. Market St. and the downtown branch of the Indianapolis Public Library, according to the court affidavit.
Officers first made contact with Lewis on Wednesday at the hotel where he “confirmed that he was not a resident of Indiana and that he was from Texas and claimed to be in Indianapolis on vacation,” the court papers said.
When pressed about the threatening messages sent to Clark, “Lewis claimed that this is just an imaginary relationship” and that the missives were “an imagination, fantasy type thing and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening,” according to the affidavit.
Police interviewed Clark on Saturday and the Indiana Fever superstar revealed that she “has been very fearful since learning of the messages and that she has altered her public appearances and patterns of movement due to fear for her safety,” according to the affidavit supporting Lewis’ arrest.
“Clark stated that she has become very concerned for her safety after learning that Lewis was in Indianapolis,” the complaint said. “Clark also stated that she doesn’t know Lewis and has never responded to any of his messages or posts.”
Lewis was asked to stop posting crude sexual remarks on X at Clark but he appeared to still be doing so on Sunday night.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said his office takes online threats seriously because they easily can turn into real-life acts.
“No matter how prominent a figure you are, this case shows that online harassment can quickly escalate to actual threats of physical violence,” 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.”
Representatives for Clark and the Fever could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.
Lewis is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday and he hadn’t hired or been an assigned at attorney by late Monday morning, a rep for Marion County prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they’ll ask high bail as Lewis is “charged with sending a series of sexually violent messages” after having “traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis with the intent to be in close proximity to the victim,” according to a memo by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Beatson.
