A former bodyguard for ex-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema allegedly sent text messages threatening to “decapitate” a judge and vowing to “punish” the former Arizona lawmaker, according to prosecutors who presented the messages in court Monday as Matthew Ammel faced a hearing for violating a no-contact order.
Ammel, who once worked as Sinema’s security guard before the two began a romantic relationship, was arrested Sept. 29 outside a Phoenix gun store for allegedly breaking the no-contact order protecting Sinema. He is currently held on a $25,000 bond, which prosecutors asked a judge to raise to $100,000 cash only.
According to 12News, prosecutors said the messages left Sinema “reasonably and objectively afraid” that Ammel could seriously hurt her if released. A victims’ attorney representing Sinema told the court at Monday’s hearing that she feared Ammel could injure her or someone else in the community if he were let out of custody.
Investigators said Ammel, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote in one message that Sinema “needs to pay,” telling a bail bondsman the former senator should cover his bond. In other messages, prosecutors said he wrote, “I’m taking her down no matter what it takes,” and that Sinema “needs to be punished.” It is not clear exactly when those messages were sent.
Prosecutors also pointed to a message Ammel allegedly sent to military friends on Aug. 16 referencing an unnamed North Carolina judge, writing that he planned to “decapitate this f—-t and kill his entire family.” The judge was not identified, but Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather Ammel, has filed a lawsuit against Sinema in North Carolina under the state’s “homewrecker” law, commonly known as alienation of affection.
Ammel has previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a physician at a North Carolina hospital.
Prosecutors acknowledged that a $100,000 cash-only bond request “seems disproportionate” to the criminal damage charge Ammel faces for allegedly trashing Sinema’s home in Cave Creek, Arizona, in late August, but argued it was necessary. “A high cash-only bond is the only way to protect the victim and the community, and to ensure he complies with court orders,” they said.
Ammel remains in custody. If he posts bond, he will be placed under house arrest and required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Ammel joined Sinema’s security detail in 2022 and began a relationship with her before her divorce was finalized. He is scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 9, 2027, on charges stemming from an incident at Sinema’s Cave Creek home where he allegedly caused more than $200,000 in damage, which he attributed to frustration with the U.S. political system. He is accused of throwing 22 paintings into her swimming pool, shattering expensive alcohol bottles and destroying a mirror.
Ammel has said he vandalized the home after Sinema refused to post a video depicting soldiers helping a wounded man in Iraq.
The relationship between Sinema and her former bodyguard became public after his ex-wife of 14 years, Heather Ammel, sued Sinema under North Carolina’s homewrecker law, accusing the former senator of carrying on an affair with her husband during trips the two took together and of destroying her marriage. The lawsuit alleges Sinema bought Ammel gifts and paid for psychedelic treatment during their relationship.
