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Michael Lewis, a 55-year-old Texas man, was sentenced to more than 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to pursuing and harassing Indiana Fever Superstar Caitlin Clark.
Lewis was arrested in January at a Indianapoli hotel and charged with crime of crimes after allegedly sending repeated threats and violent messages to Clark through social media per. Court registration.
Lewis’ judgment includes time earned in Marion County Adult Detention Center, where he has been since his arrest.
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Caitlin Clark #22 from Indiana Fever sits on the bench after being taken out of a game with a possible injury during the second half of a game against Connecticut Sun in TD Garden on July 15, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
“This decision ensures that the defendant is held responsible for his threatening actions, the fears he introduced, and the disturbance he caused,” said Marion County -Prosecutor Ryan Mears per. Wthr Ch. 13 in Indianapolis after the verdict from Lewis. “He will now spend the next two and a half years in the correction department, and the victim will be able to have peace of mind while focusing on what matters to her.”
Lewis was also ordered to avoid any contact with Clark, stay away from Fever or Indiana Pacers games and the team’s properties and not to use the internet as part of his sentence per day. Wthr.
Caitlin Clark must be held back in heated confrontation with wnba ref
He was also recommended to receive mental health care.
“You can’t help yourself until you get help,” the judge told Lewis, who said during Monday’s hearing that the end of the world was coming.
Lewis sent Clark messages through his X account, where one of them said he had been driving around her house several times and encouraged her “not to call the law yet.” He also sent he bought tickets for a game right behind the bench.
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark (22) plays against Dallas Wings in the second half of a WNBA basketball match in Indianapolis, September 15, 2024. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
“They said I sent threatening texts. But the only one [sic] On my mind was… .caitliiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnn, “Another message to Clark read.
Clark had told the authorities that she feared for her safety before Lewis had entered Indianapolis, adding that she would change her appearance before going out to public.
When asked about the message on January 8, Lewis reportedly told the police that he was going to Indianapolis for vacation and neglected the number of messages he sent Clark. He added that it was a “fantasy thing” and a “joke.”
Caitlin Clark #22 from Indiana Fever wears a shirt that says “Pay us what you owe us” before 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“It takes a lot of courage for women to emerge in these cases why many do not,” said Mears, when Lewis was arrested, via Fox 59. “Thus, the victim is an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without a threat of sexual violence.”
