- Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill
Kyrsten Sinema's bodyguard-turned-lover is back in jail after prosecutors said he vowed to 'take down' the former senator and asked military friends to build him a rifle.
asserted
he → sign → rifle
Matthew Ammel, 39, was arrested without incident in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix on Tuesday, the Arizona Republic reported.
asserted
Republic → arrest → Tuesday
Police said he broke the conditions of his September 17 release, imposed after he was charged with trashing Sinema's home, by asking a mutual acquaintance to contact her on his behalf.
asserted
he → say → behalf
Sinema, 50, reported the approach to police on September 22 but has refused to help prosecutors, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
uncertain
Sinema → report → Office
A sheriff's lieutenant in North Carolina, where Ammel's family live, warned detectives that he was trying to get hold of a gun and tactical equipment, court documents said.
asserted
documents → live → gun
Prosecutors said he 'contacted military friends to build him a rifle, purchased tactical gear, and discussed funeral arrangements,' and threatened to kill a judge and law enforcement.
asserted
he → say → judge
'The state fears [Ammel] will escalate his retaliation if released,' Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Bryn Barasha wrote in a court filing.
asserted
Barasha → fear → filing
Cops swooped after his GPS tracker placed him at a gun shop in north Phoenix, where he had dropped off a large hunting knife to be engraved.
asserted
he → swoop → knife
His release conditions barred him from having the knife.
asserted
conditions → bar → knife
Ammel said it was a gift for his nephew's Marine Corps boot camp graduation.
asserted
it → say → graduation
Matthew Ammel, 39, was arrested without incident in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix on Tuesday.
asserted
Ammel → arrest → Tuesday
He is seen in his most recent mugshot (left) and on September 17 (right)
Kyrsten Sinema walks through the Hart Senate Office Building in April, 2023
Ammel in court on Wednesday.
asserted
Sinema → see → Wednesday
He told a judge the knife was a gift for his nephew
A judge set his bond at $25,000 on Wednesday, but prosecutors demanded that afternoon that it be raised to $100,000 cash-only, citing his threats against Sinema and calling the former Green Beret 'highly trained.'
asserted
it → tell → Beret
Ammel refused to be taken from jail to his arraignment on Thursday.
asserted
Ammel → refuse → Thursday
The judge moved the hearing to October 15 and ordered that he be brought in by any means necessary, including force.
asserted
he → move → force
The arrest comes a month after Ammel was charged with felony criminal damage over a $200,000 rampage at Sinema's $2 million home in Cave Creek, a Phoenix suburb, on August 30.
asserted
Ammel → come → August
He threatened to throw a painting into her pool every 10 minutes until she posted a video on her X account.
asserted
she → threaten → account
She refused, and he dumped 22 of her paintings into the pool and smashed expensive liquor bottles and a mirror, court records show.
asserted
records → refuse → bottles
The seven-minute video, filmed during his first deployment to Iraq in 2007, shows soldiers treating a bloodied man they had shot before loading him onto a helicopter, Ammel told the Republic.
asserted
Ammel → film → Republic
'I was pissed at the system and I took it out on her art,' Ammel told the Republic.
asserted
Ammel → piss → art
'The American people have no idea how [expletive] up our government is and, like, what our politicians spend their time doing.
asserted
politicians → have → time
Sinema served a single Senate term from 2019 to 2025 and has since joined law firm Hogan Lovells as a senior adviser.
asserted
Sinema → serve → adviser
Ammel, who met her through Tulsi Gabbard, joined her security detail in 2022, and the pair began an affair in 2024.
asserted
pair → meet → 2024
Ammel said he felt like 'arm candy' as he accompanied Sinema to events linked to AI defense giant Palantir, a British American Tobacco board dinner and CNN anchor Jessica Dean's wedding.
asserted
he → say → Palantir
His final trip to Washington with Sinema, to attend an event for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, felt like a 'genocide celebration' of the Gaza war, Ammel said.
asserted
Ammel → attend → war
'Kyrsten was there rubbing elbows with Trump's personal lawyer and, like, it was legitimately the most insane thing I had ever seen,' Ammel told the Republic.
asserted
Ammel → rub → Republic
Sinema at a hearing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19
Heather Ammel exits a court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19
Ammel's ex-wife Heather is suing Sinema under North Carolina's 'homewrecker' law, accusing the former Democratic lawmaker of ruining their 14-year marriage.
asserted
wife → exit → marriage
Sinema admits the affair.
asserted
Sinema → admit → affair
Ammel disputed his ex-wife's claim that Sinema used her clout as his boss to take advantage of him.
uncertain
Sinema → dispute → him
'Kyrsten didn't take advantage of me,' he told the Republic.
asserted
he → take → Republic
He was accused in 2025 of strangling health care workers while committed in North Carolina, the Republic reported.
asserted
Republic → accuse → Carolina
The re-arrest relates to the criminal damage case, in which a grand jury indicted Ammel on a single felony count on September 24.
asserted
jury → relate → September
His trial is set for February 11, 2027.
asserted
trial → set → February
I want to see my kids and my dog Scout and go back in the Army,' Ammel told the Republic.
asserted
Ammel → want → Republic
The Aporia
