Man charged with stalking Caitlin Clark disrupts court hearing
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A man charged with stalking and harassing basketball star Caitlin Clark was rebuked after becoming disruptive during a court appearance on Tuesday. Michael Lewis, of Denton, Texas, was arrested on Monday at a hotel in Indianapolis, where Clark plays for the Indiana Fever, after allegedly sending threatening messages to the WNBA star, some of which were sexual in nature.
The 55-year-old Lewis sat back in his chair when he entered Marion County Superior Court and said "guilty as charged” and went on to interrupt the proceedings on several occasions. “You have a right to remain silent, and I expect you to exercise that on me,” Judge Angela Davis said. Lewis continued to interrupt the judge, who told him to “stop talking.” Davis then entered a not guilty plea on Lewis’s behalf, saying she could not accept an admission of guilt at a preliminary hearing.
Lewis is being held on $50,000 bail and was ordered to refrain from contacting Clark. Prosecutors wrote that Lewis “caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened” and that the 22-year-old WNBA player was also “in reasonable fear of sexual battery.”.
Indianapolis police first spoke to Lewis last week, when he is alleged to have sent threatening messages to Clark on X. According to court documents, one message read: “Been driving around your house 3x a day. But don’t call the law just yet.” Other messages contained elements of sexual violence, according to the documents.
Clark told Indianapolis police the messages had left her fearing for her safety and had made her change her appearances in public. Police traced Lewis to an Indianapolis hotel where he was staying after traveling from his home in Texas. He told them he understood he did not have a relationship with Clark. “It’s an imagination, fantasy type thing and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening,” Lewis said, according to court documents.
