According to reports in Arizona, the former bodyguard of former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema was charged with damaging her Arizona home.
According to a report from KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona, Matthew Ammel was arrested and charged with felony criminal damage after Sinema said he damaged about 22 paintings and several bottles of alcohol valued at a total of over $200,000.
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Ammel was bonded out of jail and is wearing an electronic monitoring device while the court case proceeds.
Both Ammel and Sinema have been in the headlines in North Carolina as Heather Ammel, Matthew Ammel's ex-wife, sued Sinema. In the lawsuit, she claimed her husband and the former senator were romantically involved while they were still married.
In the lawsuit, which was filed under North Carolina's "homewrecker law," Heather Ammel claimed that Sinema knowingly interfered with their marriage while he was employed as her bodyguard. North Carolina is one of a handful of states where a former spouse can sue someone for breaking up their marriage.
While Sinema has acknowledged having a romantic relationship with Matthew Ammel, she argued that she can't be sued in North Carolina because she has no connection to the state.
Earlier in September, a judge rejected Sinema's argument, saying that nine text messages she sent to Ammel while he was in the state gave North Carolina jurisdiction over her, and found it implausible that she was unaware of Ammel's whereabouts when she texted him.
Sinema described their sexual encounters during a deposition in July. She said the relationship turned sexual on May 27, 2024, during a trip to Napa, California. She said they later had sexual encounters in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona, but never in North Carolina.