A Texas man who was arrested for allegedly sending threats and sexually explicit messages to WNBA star Caitlin Clark is being held on $50,000 bond, following a disruptive court appearance in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Michael Thomas Lewis, 55, who is accused of stalking Clark, let out multiple outbursts during his first appearance in court since he was arrested over the weekend and accused to making a series of vulgar, threatening online statements at the Indiana Fever player, including yelling he is “guilty as charged” as he stood before Judge Angela Davis at Marion County Superior Court. Per NBC News, Lewis shouted “I’m free” and “I guess you got the wrong guy” at different points throughout the hearing; when asked by the court if he suffers from mental illness, Lewis responded, “I need my medicines.”

Indiana state prosecutors allege that Lewis stalked Clark from approximately Dec. 16, 2024 and Jan. 11, 2025 with “repeated and continued harassment,” and also allege that Lewis made an implicit or explicit threat “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual battery.”  An X account linked to Lewis shows thousands of messages he sent to Clark, which were sexually explicit and/or violent in content.

Lewis was arrested Sunday and is being held in the Marion County Adult Detention Center in Indianapolis. He faces a level five felony charge of stalking, which carries a sentence of 1 to 6 years in the department of corrections, with the presumptive sentence of three years, as well as a $10,000 fine.

Judge Davis said the purpose of the hearing was to relay the charges and she would not yet accept a plea, with Lewis set to return to Marion County Superior Court on March 31 for a pretrial hearing. The judge also ordered Lewis to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Fever play home games, and from Butler basketball arena Hinkle Fieldhouse (Clark’s boyfriend, Connor McCaffery is an assistant coach at Butler).

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