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Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard turned lover allegedly threatened to punish the former lawmaker and threatened to decapitate a judge, chilling text messages show, as he appeared in court for violating his no-contact order in place against her.
Prosecutors highlighted messages allegedly sent by Matthew Ammel, which resulted in Sinema being “reasonably and objectively afraid” she could be seriously injured by the former security guard, 12News reported Monday.
Ammel, who is accused of trashing the former lawmaker’s home, was arrested on Sept. 29 outside a Phoenix gun store for allegedly flouting his no-contact order. He was being held on a $25,000 bond, that prosecutors wanted to increase to $100,000 cash only.
Investigators not only uncovered messages Ammel allegedly sent about Sinema when he was busted but also about a North Carolina judge. The judge wasn’t named but Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather Ammel, filed a lawsuit in the state under its “homewrecker” law.
“She needs to pay,” the Army veteran, who previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan, allegedly wrote in one message as he told a bail bondsman Sinema should pay his bond.
“I’m taking her down no matter what it takes,” Ammel allegedly wrote in another message, with prosecutors claiming he also penned “she needs to be punished.”
It’s unclear when Ammel allegedly sent those messages, but a victims attorney representing Sinema revealed the impact the messages had on her wellbeing.
“[She] is reasonably and objectively afraid that if [Ammel] is released, that he will seriously injure either [her] or someone else in the community,” they said during Monday’s hearing in Arizona.
Ammel also confided in his military pals on Aug. 16 where he allegedly wrote, “I’m going to decapitate this f—-t and kill his entire family.”
Ammel previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a physician at a North Carolina hospital.
Prosecutors called for his bond to be upped to $100,000 cash only – a demand they admitted “seems disproportionate” to the criminal damage charge he was slapped with for allegedly trashing Sinema’s Cave Creek home in late August.
“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 stressed.
Ammel is being held in custody and will be put under house arrest if he posts bond.
He will also be forced to wear an electronic tag as part of his release deal.
Ammel, who joined Sinema’s security team in 2022 before striking up a romance before her divorce had been finalized, will face trial on Feb. 9 2027 for allegedly causing more than $200,000 worth of damage to her home – which he attributed to being “p—-d” at the US political system.
He allegedly threw 22 paintings into her swimming pool and shattered several expensive alcohol bottles and destroyed one mirror.
Ammel has since revealed he trashed the home after Sinema refused to post a video of soldiers helping a wounded man in Iraq.
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.