Court records say Matthew Ammel, a former bodyguard and romantic partner of Kyrsten Sinema, admitted damaging the former senator’s Arizona property during an alleged rampage investigators valued at more than $200,000.
According to the filings, Ammel, 39, sent messages to Sinema while she was away, threatening to destroy one of her paintings every 10 minutes unless she uploaded a video to her X account. The documents do not specify what the video contained.
Sinema declined to publish the video, the records say. Ammel allegedly responded by removing 22 paintings from the walls of her Cave Creek home, near Phoenix, and throwing them into the backyard swimming pool on August 30.
A separate piece of artwork discovered near the front door had been covered in black spray-painted writing, according to the court document.
Authorities also allege that Ammel smashed costly liquor bottles, leaving shards scattered throughout the residence and pool. Sinema told investigators that he broke a large wall mirror by throwing a glass bottle at it.
The paintings were estimated to be worth $123,015. When damage to the residence and swimming pool was included, the overall loss was placed above $200,000.
Ammel’s former wife, Heather, has separately sued Sinema under North Carolina’s so-called “homewrecker” law. The lawsuit alleges that Sinema contributed to the breakdown of Heather’s 14-year marriage while Ammel worked as part of her security detail in Washington, DC. Sinema has acknowledged the affair.
Sinema told deputies she had text messages, video recordings and security footage that showed Ammel allegedly damaging the home. Investigators identified him in portions of the video, while additional footage remains under review.
Matthew Ammel, 39, faces one count of criminal damage, a Class 4 felony, according to court records.
Kyrsten Sinema walks through the Hart Senate Office Building in April 2023.
A handwritten note attached to Ammel’s statement says that, after being advised of his Miranda rights, he “confessed to damaging the victim’s property described above.”
Ammel, an Army veteran, has been charged with criminal damage designated as a domestic-violence offense. The Class 4 felony carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.
In Arizona, the domestic-violence designation can apply when an alleged offense involves people who are currently or were previously in a romantic relationship.
He was arrested September 17 after leaving a behavioral health facility. Ammel had been taken there following a petition seeking an involuntary psychiatric evaluation.
Ammel did not attend his initial hearing in person. During the recorded proceeding, a deputy said, “They’re saying that he’s combative and he’s in the hallway.”
He was released with an electronic monitoring device and is scheduled to return to court October 1. The conditions of his release prohibit him from contacting Sinema or going back to the property. He is also barred from possessing weapons and consuming alcohol.
Workers were seen constructing a wall around Sinema’s property Wednesday. One worker told Arizona’s Family that the project had been underway for roughly two weeks.
A neighbor said Sinema had discussed adding security around the home since moving there more than a year ago, citing threats she had received. The neighbor also believed Ammel had previously lived at the residence, recalling his truck outside and seeing him working in the yard.
Heather Ammel leaves a court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19.
Sinema appears at a hearing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19.
The alleged rampage unfolded less than two weeks after Sinema testified about their relationship at a federal hearing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Heather Ammel is seeking at least $75,000 in damages under the state’s rare ‘alienation of affection’ law, which lets spouses sue a third party for the breakdown of their marriage.
The suit claims Sinema embarked on an affair with Heather’s special forces veteran husband shortly after he was hired to her security team in 2022.
Ammel allegedly told his wife Sinema got ‘handsy’ with him at a Tempe music festival in March 2024.
The suit also claims Sinema told Ammel to bring MDMA, also known as ecstasy, on a work trip in 2023 so she could ‘guide him through a psychedelic experience.’
Sinema testified in a July deposition that the relationship turned sexual on May 27, 2024, on a visit to Napa.
She said later encounters took place in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona, but never in North Carolina.
Sinema argued she could not be sued in the state. US District Judge David Bragdon disagreed this month, ruling that nine texts she sent Ammel while he was there gave the court jurisdiction.
Bragdon also took a swipe at Ammel in a footnote, writing that he ‘does not have a record of telling the truth in this matter.’
Ammel was paid more than $90,000 for six months’ work in her Senate office, according to congressional salary database Legistorm.
Sinema quit the Democratic Party to become an independent during her single Senate term and did not seek reelection in 2024.
The first openly bisexual senator, Sinema became known on Capitol Hill for her bright outfits and wigs, and for an unlikely friendship with Republican Mitt Romney.
She is now a senior adviser at Washington law firm Hogan Lovells.
