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Michael Lewis, the 55-year-old man accused of stalking WNBA star Caitlin Clark, has been ordered to serve time in prison for his actions. He was originally arrested in January on one count of stalking – a Level 5 felony – and engaging in a “course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of Caitlin Clark that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized.”
Why was he arrested?
Lewis, from Denton, Texas, was arrested after driving to Indianapolis and then sending Clark multiple threatening messages on social media. He also claimed to have purchased tickets to an Indiana Fever game and said he was planning on sitting behind the bench. Prior to that, Lewis had made hundreds of posts on X (Twitter) about Caitlin Clark.
During his opening hearing in Indianapolis shortly after his arrest in January, Michael Lewis made numerous outbursts. At that time, he was ordered to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse – where the Indiana Fever play, to have no contact with Caitlin Clark, and to stay out of Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Connor McCaffrey, Clark’s boyfriend, works.
What happened in the courtroom?
On Monday, Lewis was back in a Indiana courtroom after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of harassment and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. He also was ordered to have no contact with Clark, not to use the internet, and again ordered to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever Events, and Pacers Organization Events.
WTHR News reports that during the court proceedings, the judge had to repeatedly stop to admonish Lewis for his behavior.
During his statement to the court, Lewis claimed about Clark, “I want her to be safe.” He also added, “I’ve never threatened her, I’ve never thought about threatening her.”
That statement did not sit well with the judge, who told the courtroom, “He is going to talk himself out of a plea. You have to understand that as part of a plea deal, you are admitting responsibility.” To which Lewis replied something about the world coming to an end, leading the judge to recommend he get mental health treatment.
The prosecution speaks out
“This resolution ensures that the defendant is held accountable for his threatening actions, the fear he instilled, and the disruption he caused,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. “He will now spend the next two and a half years in the Department of Correction and the victim will be able to have peace of mind while focusing on what matters to her.”
Clark reportedly worked with police upon learning about the messages from Lewis. She even went so far as to adjust her public appearances and patterns of movement to avoid him.
“I hope everyone focuses on the fact that there is a real victim here. There is a 22-year-old young person here who has been profoundly impacted by what is being said. I think, hopefully, (this case) also highlights there are consequences to what people say online,” Mears said. “You have someone who is now looking over their shoulder, because they don’t know, is this going to be the day or the time when I have to encounter this person in person?”