Ex-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Former Bodyguard-Turned-Lover Accused Of Ransacking Her Home

Ex-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Former Bodyguard-Turned-Lover Accused Of Ransacking Her Home

admin Sep 24, 2026 0

Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s sordid workplace sex scandal has entered a new era.

Matthew Ammel, the erstwhile congresswoman’s ex-bodyguard and onetime paramour, was arrested on Sep. 17 for allegedly trashing her Cave Creek, Arizona, home in a rampage which resulted in $200,000 worth of damage.

According to court documents obtained by Phoenix-area network KPNX, Ammel reportedly went to Sinema’s home while she was out of town in late August and asked the former senator to post a video on X before threatening to “damage her paintings every 10 minutes” if she did not comply. The nature of the video is not detailed in the report.

When Sinema declined, he reportedly flung 22 pieces of art into her pool and defaced another with black spray paint. Court records list the estimated value of the paintings at $123,015.

Ammel, whose affair with Sinema came to light after his ex-wife sued her under North Carolina’s “homewrecker” statute this January, also allegedly broke multiple bottles of expensive alcohol, bringing the total damages up to $200,000.

The rampage was reportedly captured on home security cameras. Sinema is said to have provided the footage as well as text messages to investigators.

Ammel did not appear in front of a judge during his initial court hearing after reportedly causing a disturbance outside of the chambers, according to recordings reviewed by Arizona Family.

In the recordings, a Maricopa County sheriff’s deputy reportedly tells the judge, “They’re saying that he’s combative and he’s in the hallway.” Ammel was subsequently released from custody without bond and with an electronic monitor.

HuffPost has reached out to the Superior Court of Maricopa County for further details.

In a July deposition regarding the North Carolina civil suit, Sinema said she and Ammel began their sexual relationship in May 2024 during a trip to Napa Valley, California. The former senator’s bid to have the case dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction was rejected by U.S. District Judge David A. Bragdon earlier this month.

Sinema served a single term in the Senate lasting from 2019 to 2025. Though elected as a Democrat, she switched her party affiliation to independent in 2022 in a move threatening Democrats’ narrow majority at the time.