PHOENIX — Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-lover was taken into custody in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot after he got caught bringing a large knife to a Phoenix gun shop. Prosecutors claim Matthew Ammel, 39, discussed building a rifle and threatened to come after Sinema and “take her down.”
Ammel, Sinema’s one-time bodyguard, is accused of trashing her Cave Creek home at the end of August. He was arrested again Sept. 29 for allegedly violating the terms of his pretrial release in the case and given a $25,000 bond.
Prosecutors asked the court to raise his bond to $100,000 in cash, claiming the former Green Beret poses a safety risk to Sinema, I-Arizona, and the broader community.
Ammel is a "highly trained military soldier" who "contacted military friends to build him a rifle, purchased tactical gear, and discussed funeral arrangements," according to a court filing.
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"The state fears defendant will escalate his retaliation if released," according to a court filing signed by Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Bryn Barasha.
Matthew Ammel, 39, was in the military before he began working for, and later dating, former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Ammel had been released with an ankle monitor and an order to stay away from Sinema, 50, in mid-September after he was accused of throwing 22 paintings in her swimming pool, smashing expensive bottles of booze and causing $200,000 of property damage.
He was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 24 for the property damage allegations. The North Carolina man was charged with one count of criminal damage, which is a Class 4 felony and domestic violence offense, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
He told The Arizona Republic in an exclusive interview that he trashed Sinema's house in part because he was disillusioned by her relationship with a major U.S. Artificial Intelligence software developer amid the war in Gaza. Ammel is a former Green Beret who struggles with brain injuries and PTSD from his time serving overseas.
Ammel is also at the center of his ex-wife’s “homewrecker” lawsuit in North Carolina that accuses Sinema, who is not married, of breaking up their marriage with a coast-to-coast sexual affair at the end of her Senate term.
Ammel caught in parking lot
Officials were tipped off to Ammel's knife when his GPS monitor traced him to a gun store in north Phoenix, according to a legal document. A detective contacted the shop owner, who said Ammel left a large hunting-style knife there to be engraved.
Earlier that day, a North Carolina sheriff's lieutenant had warned Arizona officials that Ammel was allegedly trying to procure a firearm and other tactical equipment and had threatened to kill a North Carolina judge.
Authorities got an arrest warrant and found Ammel at the luxury hotel where he had been living, The Camby on the corner of 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix.
They asked him to walk across the street to The Cheesecake Factory, where he was taken into custody in the parking lot.
Ammel did not deny having what officials called a “large, military-style knife” when he went before a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner the next morning, on Sept. 30.
He told the commissioner that he had taken the knife from a storage unit to an engraving shop to have it engraved for his nephew’s Marine Corps boot camp graduation, according to a video of Ammel’s initial appearance.
“You just should not have had a weapon,” the commissioner replied, sounding exasperated.
It wasn't the first time Ammel violated his pretrial release conditions, according to court records.
Ammel was accused of violating the terms of his pretrial release on Sept. 19, shortly after he got out of custody following the property damage incident. Ammel tried to request information from Sinema through an acquaintance, prosecutors said.
Sinema filed a report about the contact on Sept. 22 but declined to aid in prosecution, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Ammel was due in Maricopa County Superior Court a day later on Oct. 1, but a judge said he refused to be transported to court from the Maricopa County Lower Buckeye Jail.
Ammel was ordered to appear at his next court date by “any means necessary,” a judge said, “including force.” He is set to return to court Oct. 15.
Ammel is also facing felony charges in another state. He was accused of strangling health care staff in 2025 while he was involuntarily committed at a mental health facility in North Carolina.
