A 55-year-old man from Texas has been arrested on a felony stalking charge after repeatedly sending threatening messages to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark via social media. Michael Lewis, of Denton, was charged with Level 5 felony stalking after being arrested at a hotel in Indianapolis.
According to court documents, Lewis sent messages to Clark between December 16 and January 2, including threats that made her feel “terrorized, frightened, intimidated” and even threatened with sexual violence. The FBI tracked the IP addresses of his recent messages to identify him.
Clark, 22, told police she never responded to any of Lewis’ messages but felt compelled to alter her appearance in public due to fear for her safety. Indianapolis police made a welfare check on Lewis, who claimed he was in an “imaginary relationship” with Clark and that his posts were just a joke.
The arrest comes after prosecutors moved to ban Lewis from playing at both Hinkle Fieldhouse and Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Fever play their home games. This is not the first case of stalking related to a WNBA player, as a 40-year-old man from Oregon received a suspended sentence and probation for similar charges following his arrest for stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers in December.
Source: https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/43397933/texas-man-arrested-charged-stalking-fever-caitlin-clark