Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-boyfriend and former bodyguard is back in jail after authorities arrested him for allegedly possessing a large, military-style knife and trying to contact her through an acquaintance.
Matthew Ammel, 39, is accused of trashing Sinema’s 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.
He 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.
Ammel was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 24 for the property damage allegations.
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 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 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 did not deny having what officials called a “large, military-style knife” when he went before a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner 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 bootcamp graduation, according to a video of Ammel’s initial appearance.
“You just should not have had a weapon,” the commissioner replied, sounding exasperated.
Ammel asked the commissioner to elaborate on how he had tried to contact Sinema through an acquaintance. The commissioner declined to provide more detail.
The North Carolina man 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.
Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her at stephanie.murray@usatodayco.com, on X and TikTok @stephanie_murr and on Instagram @stephaniemurray.news.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sinema's ex-boyfriend back in jail, accused of having a large knife
