Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema accused her ex-boyfriend and former bodyguard of damaging more than $200,000 of property at her Cave Creek home, telling police that Matthew Ammel tossed valuable paintings into her swimming pool, destroyed expensive bottles of alcohol and smashed a mirror.
Ammel, who was Sinema’s bodyguard when they began their relationship in the final year of her U.S. Senate term, was charged with aggravated criminal damage, according to a charging document.
According to court records, Sinema, I-Arizona, showed police video footage of Ammel ruining her art collection on Aug. 30 while she was out of town.
Sinema, 50, told police that Ammel, 39, demanded she post a video to her X social media account. When she refused, Ammel told her that he would damage a painting every 10 minutes until she complied.
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“Kyrsten did not post the video, and Ammel subsequently removed approximately 22 paintings from the walls and threw them into the backyard swimming pool,” the report said. An additional painting was spray-painted with black letters.
Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has accused her ex-boyfriend and former bodyguard of damaging more than $200,000 of property at her Cave Creek home.
The episode comes as Ammel’s ex-wife is suing Sinema for allegedly breaking up their marriage. Heather Ammel is using North Carolina’s rare “homewrecker” law to bring the suit against Sinema, who was forced to reveal details about the coast-to-coast sexual relationship she had with her ex-employee.
The violent incident at Sinema's home happened less than two weeks after she and Heather Ammel each appeared in a North Carolina courtroom on Aug. 19 to provide testimony about the affair.
When police came to Sinema’s home to assess the damage on Sept. 3, they noticed paintings floating in the pool. Sinema told them the value of the damaged paintings was $123,015.
Ammel was accused of smashing a wall-mounted mirror with a glass bottle. He broke several expensive alcohol bottles in her house, Sinema said, leaving broken glass throughout her home and swimming pool. The total cost of the damage was more than $200,000, according to police.
Police noted the shattered mirror during their investigation. When they reviewed surveillance footage and other video, they identified Ammel as the person damaging the property.
Neither Sinema nor Ammel responded to The Arizona Republic's requests for comment.
Ammel was charged Sept. 17. Police picked him up from a Valleywise mental health facility, where he had been mentally health-petitioned, according to a court document. He was released the same day.
Ammel's case will return to Maricopa County Superior Court on Oct. 1 for a status conference.
Ammel is a university fellow in Arizona State University’s Office of University Affairs. The university did not respond to a request for comment.
The North Carolina man has faced legal troubles in the past. Ammel was charged with felony assault in his home state in 2025, following an attack on a medical worker who told him he could not leave because of an involuntary commitment relating to erratic behavior and threats.
