Matthew Ammel, the former bodyguard and romantic partner of ex-Senator Kyrsten Sinema, has reportedly asked her to help secure his release—just days after being jailed over threats to “take down” the former lawmaker.
According to a court filing cited by the Arizona Republic, Ammel, 39, had a bail bondsman “call [Sinema] and ask that she post his bond,” Sinema’s attorney, Colleen Clase, said Monday.
Clase described the request as indirect contact that amounted to witness harassment and intimidation. She said it was particularly troubling given the recent threats against Sinema’s life, though the filing does not specify when the call took place.
The attorney asked the judge to reject bail entirely or increase Ammel’s current $25,000 bond substantially, pointing to the alleged threats and his criminal record.
Ammel remains held at a jail in Buckeye after his September 29 arrest in a Phoenix Cheesecake Factory parking lot. Police said the arrest took place without incident.
Authorities allege that he violated the terms of his September 17 release by asking a mutual acquaintance to reach out to Sinema. The release conditions had been imposed after he was accused of damaging her home.
Sinema, 50, reported that earlier contact to police on September 22, but the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said she has declined to assist prosecutors.
Court documents also say a sheriff’s lieutenant in North Carolina, where Ammel’s family lives, warned investigators that Ammel was attempting to obtain a firearm and tactical equipment.
Matthew Ammel, 39, was arrested without incident in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix on Tuesday. He is seen in his most recent mugshot (left) and on September 17 (right)
Sinema at a hearing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19
Prosecutors allege that Ammel “contacted military friends to build him a rifle, purchased tactical gear, and discussed funeral arrangements.” They also say he made threats against a judge and members of law enforcement.
“The state fears [Ammel] will escalate his retaliation if released,” Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Bryn Barasha wrote in a filing.
Police moved against him after his GPS monitor showed him at a north Phoenix gun shop, where he had left a large hunting knife to be engraved.
His release terms prohibited him from possessing the knife. Ammel reportedly told authorities it was intended as a gift for his nephew’s Marine Corps boot camp graduation.
A judge initially set bail at $25,000 on September 30. Prosecutors then sought a $100,000 cash-only bond, citing the alleged threats against Sinema and describing Ammel, a former Green Beret, as “highly trained.”
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Ammel declined to leave jail for his October 1 arraignment. The judge postponed the hearing until October 15 and ordered that he be brought to court by any necessary means, including force.
The latest arrest followed felony criminal-damage charges filed a month earlier over an alleged $200,000 rampage at Sinema’s $2 million home in Cave Creek, a Phoenix suburb, on August 30.
According to court records, Ammel threatened to throw one of Sinema’s paintings into her pool every 10 minutes unless she posted a video to her X account. When she refused, he allegedly dumped 22 paintings into the pool, smashed liquor bottles and broke a mirror.
Ammel told the Republic that the video he wanted Sinema to share lasted seven minutes and was recorded during his first deployment to Iraq in 2007. It showed soldiers treating a wounded man they had shot before placing him aboard a helicopter.
“I was pissed at the system and I took it out on her art,” Ammel told the newspaper. “The American people have no idea how [expletive] up our government is and, like, what our politicians spend their time doing.”
Sinema served a single Senate term from 2019 to 2025 and has since joined law firm Hogan Lovells as a senior adviser. Ammel, who met her through Tulsi Gabbard, joined her security detail in 2022, and the pair began an affair in 2024.
Ammel said he felt like ‘arm candy’ as he accompanied Sinema to events linked to AI defense giant Palantir, a British American Tobacco board dinner and CNN anchor Jessica Dean’s wedding.
His final trip to Washington with Sinema, to attend an event for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, felt like a ‘genocide celebration’ of the Gaza war, Ammel said.
‘Kyrsten was there rubbing elbows with Trump’s personal lawyer and, like, it was legitimately the most insane thing I had ever seen,’ Ammel told the Republic.
Ammel’s ex-wife Heather is suing Sinema under North Carolina’s ‘homewrecker’ law, accusing the former Democratic lawmaker of ruining their 14-year marriage. Sinema admits the affair.
Ammel and Sinema used to date when he worked as her bodyguard. They have since broken up
Ammel disputed his ex-wife’s claim that Sinema used her clout as his boss to take advantage of him. ‘Kyrsten didn’t take advantage of me,’ he told the Republic. ‘She was nice to me.’
He was accused in 2025 of strangling health care workers while committed in North Carolina, the Republic reported.
The re-arrest relates to the criminal damage case, in which a grand jury indicted Ammel on a single felony count on September 24. His trial is set for February 11, 2027.
‘I had a dumb job, but I’m not dumb. Or crazy, I’m just sick of the system. I want to see my kids and my dog Scout and go back in the Army,’ Ammel told the Republic.