Kyrsten Sinema’s former boyfriend and security team member allegedly asked her to pay his jail bond, even after reportedly threatening to “take down” the former lawmaker. The request came about a month after he allegedly vandalized her home, causing more than $200,000 in damage.
Matthew Ammel, a 39-year-old US Army veteran, made the request through a bail bondsman, according to court documents filed Monday. The development came a week after his arrest in Phoenix for allegedly violating an active no-contact order, the Arizona Republic reported.
Ammel remains jailed in Buckeye on a $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 15 over allegations that he wrecked Sinema’s home in late August. He has attributed his anger to being “p—d” at the US political system.
Sinema’s attorney, Colleen Clase, said Ammel again allegedly breached the no-contact order by having a “bail bondsman call [Sinema] and ask that she post his bond,” according to a court filing reviewed by the Arizona Republic.
“This is a form of indirect contact, constitutes witness harassment and intimidation, and causes substantial concern given the recent history of threats made against her life,” Clase wrote. It is not clear when the call took place.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to raise Ammel’s bond to $100,000 in cash, citing the alleged threats against Sinema and others.
Clase also urged the court to make Ammel’s case non-bondable or set a bond “much larger” than the current $25,000 amount, pointing to his background and alleged conduct.
“The nature and seriousness of the threats, [Ammel’s] criminal history, past evidence for [Sinema’s] conduct, and the need for appropriate conditions of release if he is not deemed non-bondable need to be sufficient to protect [Sinema] and the community,” she said.
Police arrested Ammel on Sept. 29 in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix after receiving an alert from his GPS monitoring device.
He had left a knife at a nearby gun store to have it engraved and was waiting for the weapon to be finished. Ammel said the knife was intended as a gift for his nephew’s Marine Corps graduation.
However, the terms of Ammel’s release prohibited him from possessing a blade.
Investigators subsequently learned that he had allegedly attempted to purchase a firearm, threatened to “take down” Sinema and threatened to kill a judge in North Carolina.
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Prosecutors also alleged that Ammel “contacted military friends to build him a rifle, purchased tactical gear, and discussed funeral arrangements.” They did not provide additional details about those claims.
Ammel also refused to attend his arraignment, which had been scheduled for last Thursday.
Ammel joined Sinema’s security team in 2022 and later began a relationship with her before her divorce was finalized. He allegedly caused more than $200,000 in damage to her home in late August while she was away.
Ammel said he vandalized Sinema’s property because she refused to post a video showing soldiers helping a wounded man in Iraq.
He wanted Sinema to use her Pentagon connections to investigate why his military unit had not received the Presidential Unit Citation.
Ammel, who acknowledged that he had been drinking, allegedly threatened to destroy one piece of Sinema’s artwork every 10 minutes if she did not comply with his demand.
After she refused, he allegedly threw 22 paintings into her swimming pool. The estimated damage to the artwork was about $123,000.
He also allegedly smashed several expensive bottles of alcohol and destroyed a mirror, bringing the total reported damage to more than $200,000.
Sinema’s relationship with her former bodyguard became public after Ammel’s ex-wife of 14 years sued the former politician under North Carolina’s “homewrecker law.”
Heather Ammel accused Sinema of destroying her marriage with her ex-husband by sustaining an affair with him during their trips together around the world.
Sinema allegedly bought Ammel gifts and paid for him to receive psychedelic treatment during the home-wrecking relationship.
She invited him as a guest to a wedding and a Taylor Swift concert.
Sinema, the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress, admitted to having repeated sex with Ammel in cities across America beginning around Memorial Day 2024. Sinema didn’t seek election in 2024.