A 55-year-old Texas man was arrested on a felony stalking charge in Indianapolis on Sunday after he allegedly repeatedly sent threats and sexually violent messages to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark via social media, according to court documents.
Police records show that Michael Lewis, of Denton, Texas, was charged with a Level 5 felony after he was arrested at a hotel in Indianapolis. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.
Lewis could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department first spoke to Lewis on Wednesday about his alleged messages to Clark on X, formerly known as Twitter, from Dec. 16 through Jan. 2.
"Been driving around your house 3x a day," Lewis messaged to Clark, according to court documents. "But don't call the law just yet, the publc is allowed to drive by gainbridge..aka Caitlin's Fieldhouse."
"I'm getting tickets. I'm sitting behind the bench," read another message.
"They said I was sending threatening texts..but the only though on my mind was....CAITLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN," read another.
Other messages were sexually violent, according to court documents.
The 22-year-old Clark, the WNBA rookie of the year, told police she feared for her safety -- even before Lewis arrived in Indianapolis -- and had even altered her appearance in public. She also told police that she never responded to any of Lewis' messages or posts.
The posts "actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened" and an implicit or explicit threat also was made "with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual battery," prosecutors wrote in the Marion County Superior Court filing.
Mears said the FBI tracked the IP addresses of Lewis' recent messages to a hotel in downtown Indianapolis as well as the Indianapolis Public Library. Indianapolis police then made a welfare check on Lewis, according to court documents, and he told officers that he was in "an imaginary relationship" with Clark and that he came to Indianapolis on vacation.
Police told Lewis during the visit to "not post things like he has been posting ... because his posts can be perceived as threatening," according to the court document.
"It's an imagination, fantasy type thing and it's a joke, and it's nothing to do with threatening," Lewis told police, according to the court documents.
The messages to Clark continued after the initial visit by police.
"It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don't," Mears said. "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.
"We commend Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and the Marion County Sheriff's Office for the swift and serious action that led to this weekend's arrest."
According to the Indianapolis Star, prosecutors have moved to ban Lewis from Hinkle Fieldhouse and Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever play at both arenas.
In December, a 40-year-old man from Oregon received a one-year suspended sentence and three years' probation after pleading guilty to a second-degree charge following his arrest for stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.