Matthew Ammel

Introduction

Matthew Ammel is a 39-year-old Army veteran and former bodyguard for Kyrsten Sinema, the former U.S. senator from Arizona, whose name became public through both a criminal case and a civil lawsuit. Ammel served on Sinema’s protection detail beginning in 2022, and their subsequent relationship came to light when Ammel’s ex-wife sued Sinema under North Carolina’s alienation-of-affection statute, commonly called the state’s “homewrecker law.” In September 2026, Ammel was arrested and charged with felony criminal damage after authorities said he caused more than $200,000 in damage to Sinema’s Cave Creek, Arizona home while she was away. The charge is pending, and Ammel is presumed innocent.

Background Information

Ammel served in the U.S. Army; the New York Post reported that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries stemming from multiple deployments to the Middle East. He was hired to Sinema’s protection detail in 2022, while he was married to Heather Ammel; that marriage lasted 14 years before ending in divorce. Sinema, a Democrat-turned-Independent and the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress, represented Arizona in the Senate until leaving political office in early 2025. She has said under oath that her relationship with Ammel turned sexual in May 2024, about two years after he joined her detail.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The account of the August 30, 2026 incident in this section comes from court documents and a probable cause statement filed in Maricopa County, as reported by KPNX, FOX 10 Phoenix, the New York Post and The Daily Beast. The resulting felony criminal damage charge is a charge, not a conviction: Ammel has not been tried on it, and he is presumed innocent. The affair and “homewrecker” elements described here are unadjudicated civil allegations from a lawsuit brought by Ammel’s ex-wife; Sinema acknowledged the relationship in deposition testimony but denies the lawsuit’s claim that she knowingly destroyed the Ammels’ marriage.

According to the probable cause statement, the incident occurred on August 30, 2026 at Sinema’s Cave Creek home while she was out of town; she was not home at the time and did not report the incident to deputies until September 3. Court documents state that Ammel demanded Sinema post a video to her X account and threatened to “damage her paintings every 10 minutes” if she did not. Investigators say Sinema refused, and that Ammel then removed about 22 paintings from the walls and threw them into the backyard pool; deputies put the combined reported value of the paintings at $123,015. What the demanded video was meant to say was not disclosed.

Sinema also told deputies that Ammel broke several expensive alcohol bottles inside the home, scattering glass through portions of the house and the pool; the New York Post reported that he allegedly threw at least one bottle at a large mounted mirror, destroying it. The probable cause statement put the total estimated damage to the home, paintings included, at over $200,000. When deputies arrived on September 3, they found paintings still submerged in the pool and another piece of artwork defaced with black spray paint. Deputies said they personally observed the shattered mirror, the paintings in the pool and locations where paintings had been placed, and that Sinema provided text messages, video recordings and surveillance footage.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case drew wide attention because it landed on top of an already public civil fight. Heather Ammel, Matthew Ammel’s ex-wife of 14 years, sued Sinema under North Carolina’s “homewrecker law,” claiming Sinema knowingly interfered with the marriage while Ammel was employed as her bodyguard; “Prior to [Sinema’s] actions, Plaintiff and Mr. Ammel were happily married and genuine love and affection existed between them,” the lawsuit alleged. Sinema denied the allegations. Sinema, for her part, acknowledged the relationship under oath: in a July 31 deposition she said it turned sexual on May 27, 2024, during a trip to Napa, California — “We were staying at an Airbnb in Napa, California. We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex,” she testified — and that later encounters took place in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona, but never in North Carolina.

Ammel was arrested on September 19, 2026, and charged with felony criminal damage, according to court records viewed by the New York Post; FOX 10 Phoenix described the charge as aggravated criminal damage and reported that he was taken into custody as he was released from a mental health facility. He was found at a behavioral health center after a petition was filed for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation, AZFamily reported. At his initial court appearance, Ammel never stood before the judge because he was allegedly fighting in the hallway. “They’re saying that he’s combative and he’s in the hallway,” a Maricopa County sheriff’s deputy told the court during the hearing.

Current Status

Ammel has been released without bond and placed on electronic monitoring, despite court officials questioning his mental state, and was ordered to have no contact with Sinema and to wear an ankle monitor. The felony charge remains pending; he has not been tried and is presumed innocent. In the civil case, Sinema filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that her relationship with Ammel took place entirely outside North Carolina, but earlier in September a judge rejected that argument, citing nine text messages she sent to Ammel while he was in the state and finding it implausible that she was unaware of his whereabouts. Heather Ammel is seeking over $75,000 in damages, and the case is set for a jury trial with a pretrial conference scheduled for October 22.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Ammel’s public identity has shifted from security professional to criminal defendant and a central figure in a closely covered lawsuit. His 14-year marriage ended, and the litigation has placed details of his relationship with Sinema into the public record through deposition testimony and court filings. The criminal case has also put his mental health at the center of the proceedings: he was taken into custody as he left a mental health facility, and an involuntary psychiatric evaluation petition preceded his arrest. Coverage has repeatedly noted his Army service and the post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries attributed to his Middle East deployments. Between the pending felony charge, electronic monitoring, the no-contact order and the October 22 pretrial conference in his ex-wife’s lawsuit, both the criminal and civil tracks of the case remain open.

Sources

New York Post, “Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard in ‘homewrecker’ case trashes her Arizona home, causes $200K in damage”, September 23, 2026. source
FOX 10 Phoenix, “Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard accused of causing $200,000 damage to her Cave Creek home”, September 23, 2026. source
WRAL, “Report: Ex-bodyguard of former senator sued in NC charged with damaging her Arizona home”, September 24, 2026. source
The Daily Beast, “Kyrsten Sinema’s Married Lover Matthew Ammel Busted Over Shocking Rampage”, September 24, 2026. source