Man accused of stalking Caitlin Clark pleads ‘guilty as charged’ in first court appearance

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A day after Michael Thomas Lewis was charged with a felony for stalking Indiana Fever star and WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, the 55-year-old Texas man shouted “guilty as charged” as soon as he sat down down in a courtroom Tuesday.

Lewis is accused of repeated and continuing harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning Dec. 16, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office wrote in a court filing.

WISH-TV of Indianapolis reported that Lewis acted “very erratic” in his first court appearance and at times appeared to laugh and joke while noting that he had not taken his medication while incarcerated or while he lived out of his car.

Prosecutors said they sought a higher-than-standard bond because Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent to be near the victim.” Lewis was ordered held on a $50,000 bond, and if the bond is posted, he will be required to wear an ankle monitor and remain in Indiana.

The court also entered a plea of ​​not guilty on Lewis’ behalf, and Judge Angela Davis suggested Lewis “remain silent” in jail and speak only to his attorney.

Lewis received a no-contact order and the stay-away order requested by prosecutors that prevents him from being within 500 feet of either of the two arenas where the Fever play their home games.

His preliminary hearing will be held externally on March 31.

In a post on X, Lewis said he had been repeatedly driven by Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home arena of the Indiana Pacers, where the Fever also play. 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 social media posts “actually cause Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened,” and an implicit or explicit threat was also made “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual abuse,” prosecutors wrote in Marion County Superior Court filing.

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 made so many posts about Clark, Lewis replied, “The same reason everybody makes posts,” according to court documents.

He told police he meant no harm and that he fantasized about being in a relationship with Clark.

The Associated Press named Clark its Female athlete of the year for 2024. After leading Iowa to last year’s national championship gameshe was the top pick in the WNBA draft and went on to win rookie of the year honors in the league.