Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Police have released body camera footage of the FBI confronting the since-convicted stalker of Caitlin Clark, Michael Lewis. The video was taken outside of an Indianapolis hotel room on Jan. 8, almost a month after Lewis began harassing the Indiana Fever star.
The 55-year-old Lewis sent “numerous threats and sexually explicit messages” to Caitlin Clark, then traveling to Indianapolis, claiming that he had purchased tickets to an Indiana Fever game and intended to sit behind the bench. After his initial arrest, Lewis was charged with one count of stalking threatening sexual battery or death, a Level 5 felony.
Lewis, from Denton, Texas, was accused of a “course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of Caitlin Clark that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized.” Clark reportedly alerted police after learning that Lewis was in Indianapolis.
Confrontation with law enforcement
When confronted at an Indianapolis hotel, he told the FBI agents and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers that he merely had “an imaginary relationship” with the Fever star. He stated that he was in Indianapolis on vacation and attempted to downplay his online behavior towards Caitlin Clark.
In the video, Lewis allows law enforcement to enter his hotel room to search for any weapons or dangerous items, after reiterating that “it’s just an imaginary relationship” that and he isn’t a real threat despite making hundreds of posts on X (Twitter) about Clark.
“That’s all it is,” he said. “It doesn’t involve any threats. Just a play fun thing. That’s all it is.”
The officers made several warnings to him about posting online about Clark and eventually left Michael Lewis without arresting him when he claimed he would stop. He wouldn’t. He would continue to make threatening posts about and towards Clark and would eventually be arrested four days later on Jan. 12.
His days in court
Following his arrest, Michael Lewis made numerous outbursts in court. Every time he did so, he was approached by courtroom deputies who told him to sit up straight and not interrupt. The judge eventually entered a plea of not guilty and ordered him held in custody because he could afford the $50,000 bond.
At a later court date, Lewis would plead 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 ordered to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever Events, and Pacers Organization Events. Once again, the judge had to repeatedly stop to admonish Lewis for his outbursts during the proceedings.