Man accused of stalking US basketball star Caitlin Clark interrupts court docket proceedings, claims himself ‘responsible as charged’

Michael Thomas Lewis, a Texas-based man, has been charged with stalking and harassing American girls’s basketball participant Caitlin Clark. Michael, who claims to be a fan of Clark, allegedly despatched specific messages with a few of them “sexually violent” in nature. He was arrested on Monday in a resort located at Indianapolis. Clark performs for the India Fevers aspect within the WNBA, which is predicated out of Indianapolis.

When he appeared on the Marion County Superior Court docket on Tuesday, Lewis, sitting again at his chair, stated that he was “responsible as charged.” Nonetheless, he repeatedly interrupted the court docket proceedings. “I suppose you bought the mistaken man,” he stated. And each time he was requested of he had any psychological well being points, he simply stated “I want my medicines”. “You’ve got a proper to stay silent, and I count on you to train that on me,” stated Decide Angela Davis after a number of interruptions. Lewis, nevertheless, continued interrupting the proceedings, and it was at this level when the choose ordered him to “cease speaking”.

Prosecutors stated they had been in search of the next than normal bond as a result of Lewis travelled from his residence in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent to be in shut proximity to the sufferer.” Lewis was ordered held on a $50,000 bond, and if the bond is posted, he shall be required to put on an ankle monitor and stay in Indiana.

Court docket recordsdata ’not responsible’ plea on behalf of Lewis

The court docket additionally filed a not responsible plea on Lewis’ behalf, and Decide Angela Davis prompt Lewis “stay silent” in jail and solely converse along with his lawyer. Lewis acquired a no-contact order and the stay-away order sought by prosecutors that bars him from being inside 500 ft of both of the 2 arenas the place the Fever play their residence video games. His pretrial listening to shall be held remotely on 31 March.

In a single submit on X, Lewis stated he had been repeatedly been driving by Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers’ residence area the place the Fever additionally play. In one other, he stated he had “one foot on a banana peel and the opposite on a stalking cost.” Different messages directed at Clark had been sexually specific.

The social media posts “truly brought on Caitlin Clark to really feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened” and an implicit or specific menace additionally was made “with the intent to position Caitlin Clark in cheap worry of sexual battery,” prosecutors wrote within the Marion County Superior Court docket submitting.

The FBI discovered the X account belonged to Lewis and that the messages had been despatched from IP addresses related to an Indianapolis resort and downtown public library.

Indianapolis police spoke with Lewis on 8 January at his resort room. He informed officers he was in Indianapolis on trip. When requested why he was making so many posts about Clark, Lewis replied: “Simply the identical motive all people makes posts,” based on court docket paperwork.

He informed police that he didn’t imply any hurt and that he fantasized about being in a relationship with Clark. “It’s an creativeness, fantasy sort factor, and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening,” he had stated.

With inputs from The Related Press