Clark told police she feared for her safety and had altered her appearance in public after receiving the messages on X.

Police in the US state of Indianapolis have charged a man from Texas with a felony for stalking Women’s NBA superstar Caitlin Clark.

Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning on December 16, the Marion County prosecutor’s office wrote in a court filing on Saturday. Jail records show Lewis is due in court on Tuesday.

Lewis posted numerous messages on Clark’s X account, according to an affidavit from a Marion County sheriff’s lieutenant.

In one, he said he had been driving by the Gainbridge Fieldhouse – one of the arenas where the Fever play home games – three times a day, and in another, he said he had “one foot on a banana peel and the other on a stalking charge”. Other messages directed at Clark were sexually explicit.

The posts “actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorised, frightened, intimidated, or threatened” and an implicit or explicit threat also was made “with the intent to place Caitlin Clark in reasonable fear of sexual battery,” prosecutors wrote in the Marion County Superior Court filing.

Lewis could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

The FBI learned that the X account belonged to Lewis and that the messages were sent from IP addresses associated with an Indianapolis hotel and a downtown public library.

Indianapolis police spoke with Lewis on January 8 at his hotel room. He told officers he was in Indianapolis on vacation. When asked why he was making so many posts about Clark, Lewis replied: “Just the same reason everybody makes posts,” according to court documents.

He told police that he did not mean any harm and that he fantasised about being in a relationship with Clark.

“It’s an imagination, fantasy type thing and it’s a joke, and it’s nothing to do with threatening,” he told police, according to the court documents.

In asking the court for a higher than standard bond, the prosecutor’s office said Lewis travelled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent to be in close proximity to the victim”.

The prosecutor’s office also sought a stay-away order as a specific condition if Lewis is released from jail before trial. Prosecutors requested that Lewis be ordered to stay away from the Gainbridge and Hinkle fieldhouses where the Fever play home games.

Responding to the threats, Clark told police she feared for her safety and had altered her appearance in public.

“It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don’t,” Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said, according to The Indianapolis Star.

“In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”

Clark, 22, was the number one overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after a celebrated career at Iowa. She earned All-Star and All-WNBA honours and was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in the 2024 season.

Indiana’s 52nd governor, Republican Mike Braun, was sworn into office today.

On both a family Bible and Hoosier President Benjamin Harrison’s inaugural Bible, Braun took the oath of office before a packed theater of public servants and politicos at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. Outgoing Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb watched from the front row, as did former Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh; Indiana’s two U.S. Senators Todd Young and Jim Banks were also in attendance.

Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush administered the oaths of office for Braun, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Attorney General Todd Rokita.

In his first remarks as governor, Braun reflected on Indiana’s settler roots and said he wants to help Hoosiers continue to chart new paths.

“In the face of any challenge, Hoosiers have stepped up to take our state to unprecedented heights, and we’re not going to stop doing it,” he said. “Today, we face a new crossroads. We find ourselves seeking the same freedom and opportunity for which our ancestors journey here, and this time, we don’t have to travel far to achieve it.”

The ceremony was peppered with biographical odes to Braun: the national anthem sung by a glee club from his alma mater Wabash College, the Pledge of Allegiance recited by three of his seven grandchildren, and of course, a rendition of Back Home Again in Indiana by the Indiana National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division Band.

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The Jasper businessman can officially say he’s occupied nearly every rank of government, from local school board to state representative, U.S. Senator and now, governor.

Most Hoosiers got to know Braun though his longshot bid for Senate in 2018, during which he bested two better-known candidates in the primary and defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in the general. One of those primary opponents was Rokita, who on Monday stood beaming on the same stage as Braun, getting sworn in as Braun’s attorney general.

Before Braun’s Senate run, he served in the Statehouse as a representative for one term. His calling card is having led Meyer Distributing in Jasper as CEO for many years.

Braun’s first term as governor coincides with the inauguration of a second Donald Trump presidency ― to whom Braun owes some thanks, since Trump’s endorsement helped him rise above a competitive six-way primary last spring.

He won the November election with about 54% of the vote, 13 percentage points above his Democratic opponent, Jennifer McCormick.

Braun has promised to focus on kitchen-table issues such as addressing property taxes, reducing the costs of health care and growing the small-business economy during his time in office.

Along the theme of charting new paths, each of these issues made an appearance in Braun’s inauguration speech: Rather than “accepting high health care costs as inevitable,” for example, he wants to “take on the opaque system.”

Some of his loudest applause came at the mention of the upcoming inauguration of Trump.

“I am optimistic that the next four years see not only a change of leadership at the state and federal levels, but also a transfer of assumed power from the federal government back to the states,” Braun said.

Micah Beckwith is sworn in as lieutenant governor

Beckwith, the ticket-partner Braun didn’t choose, is likely to keep the culture wars in the conversation, even if Braun would rather not.

Politics: Indiana Gov.-elect Mike Braun will have to navigate differences within the GOP

The two are inheriting an Indiana that’s made strides in attracting global investment but continues to lag the nation in quality of life measures like health and working wages. And they’ll lead a party that has fissures between moderate, establishment wing and a populist, anti-establishment wing that Trump helped cultivate.

How Beckwith ascended to power encapsulates that split: The delegates at the state convention chose him over Braun’s endorsed candidate. One big question of this administration will be whether these competing viewpoints will impact Braun’s execution of his agenda.

Beckwith is also a staunch believer in Christian nationalism, the idea that the workings of government should be inspired by Christian principles. He quoted lengthily from Christian scripture throughout his remarks following his oath of office, specifically a long passage from the book of Deuteronomy that lists the blessings God would bestow to people who obey him.

He used his limited time, though, mostly to preach a message of unity. Afterward, he received a standing ovation.

“In today’s polarized world, it’s easy to forget that we all share the same dreams for our families, for our communities,” Beckwith said. “We all want to see Indiana thrive.”

Rokita, too, is a willing front-line soldier in the culture wars. His remarks following his inauguration started off soberly, acknowledging the importance of serving justice blindly and fairly. It evolved into a stump speech ticking through the headline-grabbing fights.

“We will make Indiana a truly free state,” Rokita said, rattling off a list of topics that were met with applause: DEI and wokism, transgender participation in sports, immigration, mask and vaccine mandates, “where we can speak our own opinion, especially when it’s not politically correct or establishment-approved, without fear of losing our livelihood.”

This story will be updated.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.