Kyrsten Sinema’s former lover has revealed the bonkers reason he destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of her property.
Matthew Ammel, 39, pulled back the curtain on his explosive affair with his former boss in a candid interview with the Arizona Daily Star, admitting that he destroyed her artwork and several other pricey items because he was “p---ed at the system.”
Ammel, Sinema’s then-married bodyguard turned scorned lover, is accused of causing more than $200,000 in property damage to the Arizona Democrat’s Cave Creek house during an August 30 rampage where he destroyed paintings, pricey bottles of alcohol, and an expensive mirror.
“I was p---ed at the system and I took it out on her art,” he told the Daily Star. “The American people have no idea how [expletive] up our government is and, like, what our politicians spend their time doing.”
Ammel struggles with brain injuries from his time as a Green Beret. At one point, he became frustrated with U.S. foreign policy and the military-industrial complex and demanded that Sinema, 50, post a video of soldiers helping a man they shot in Iraq during his first deployment in 2007.
He told the Daily Star that he wanted the former senator to post the clip “because she works for some of the companies that financially benefit from the genocide in Gaza and the current war we’re losing in Iran.”
“The same news channels and politicians championing war now were calling us terrorists and racists for our behavior during this time period. [None] of this makes sense. That’s what I was angry about,” he told the outlet.
In a rage, he told Sinema that he would toss one of her artworks into her swimming pool every 10 minutes until she complied with his demand. He ultimately dumped 22 paintings, sending videos to Sinema as he went along, according to a police report. He also smashed liquor bottles into a mirror and a clock.
Ammel said he made sure to avoid destroying art that Sinema received as gifts from friends.
“I was trying to get her to come back home, or to do something, or to use her connections for good instead of for, to make money,” he said. “I was just going through it, and I don’t usually drink, and I got drunk, and I destroyed some of her paintings.”
“I’m not a bad guy,” he maintained. “I’m not crazy. I’m just really [expletive] smart, and I’ve seen behind the curtains.”
Days later, Sinema came home and filed a police report while Ammel was admitted to an urgent psychiatric center for mental health treatment. Police arrested him after he was discharged from the facility.
Ammel recalled feeling disturbed on his last trip with Sinema to Washington, D.C., where they attended an event for Palantir CEO Alex Karp that he viewed as a “genocide celebration” of the war in Gaza. Records show that Karp and other Palantir employees donated thousands to Sinema’s campaign in 2022 and 2023, but she returned some of the money when she chose not to seek reelection.
“Kyrsten was there rubbing elbows with Trump’s personal lawyer and, like, it was legitimately the most insane thing I had ever seen,” he said.
“She would talk about how she would take bad people’s money and use it for good, but like at some point, I didn’t see her doing good anymore,” Ammel continued. “She was just doing the bad [expletive].”
Sinema, who is now a senior adviser at law firm Hogan Lovells, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sinema previously said she first met Ammel in 2022, and their affair began on Memorial Day weekend in 2024. Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather, is suing her over wrecking their 14-year marriage.
