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Kyrsten Sinema's bodyguard-turned-lover has asked the former senator to bail him, despite being jailed a week ago for threatening to 'take down' the ex-lawmaker.
asserted
bodyguard → sign → lawmaker
Matthew Ammel, 39, had a bail bondsman 'call [Sinema] and ask that she post his bond,' her lawyer Colleen Clase said in a court filing on Monday, the Arizona Republic reported.
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Republic → have → Monday
'This is a form of indirect contact, constitutes witness harassment and intimidation, and causes substantial concern given the recent history of threats made against her life,' Clase wrote.
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Clase → constitute → life
It is unclear when the call was made.
uncertain
call → make → ?
Clase urged the judge to deny Ammel bond altogether or set it 'much larger' than the current $25,000, citing the 'nature and seriousness of the threats' and his criminal history.
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Clase → urge → threats
Ammel is being held in a Buckeye jail after he was arrested without incident in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix on September 29.
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he → hold → September
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.
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he → say → behalf
Sinema, 50, reported that earlier approach to police on September 22 but has refused to help prosecutors, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
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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.
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documents → live → gun
Matthew Ammel, 39, was arrested without incident in a Cheesecake Factory parking lot in Phoenix on Tuesday.
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Ammel → arrest → Tuesday
He is seen in his most recent mugshot (left) and on September 17 (right)
Sinema at a hearing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 19
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.
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he → see → judge
'The state fears [Ammel] will escalate his retaliation if released,' Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Bryn Barasha wrote in a court filing.
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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.
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he → swoop → knife
His release conditions barred him from having the knife.
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conditions → bar → knife
Ammel said it was a gift for his nephew's Marine Corps boot camp graduation.
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it → say → graduation
A judge set his bond at $25,000 on September 30, 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.'
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it → set → Beret
Ammel refused to be taken from jail to his arraignment on October 1.
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Ammel → refuse → October
The judge moved the hearing to October 15 and ordered that he be brought in by any means necessary, including force.
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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.
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Ammel → come → August
He threatened to throw a painting into her pool every 10 minutes until she posted a video on her X account.
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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.
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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.
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Ammel → film → Republic
'I was pissed at the system and I took it out on her art,' Ammel told the Republic.
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Ammel → piss → art
'The American people have no idea how [expletive] up our government is and, like, what our politicians spend their time doing.'
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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.
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Sinema → serve → adviser
Ammel, who met her through Tulsi Gabbard, joined her security detail in 2022, and the pair began an affair in 2024.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Ammel → rub → Republic
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.
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wife → sue → marriage
Sinema admits the affair.
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Sinema → admit → affair
Ammel and Sinema used to date when he worked as her bodyguard.
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he → use → bodyguard
They have since broken up
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They → break → ?
Ammel disputed his ex-wife's claim that Sinema used her clout as his boss to take advantage of him.
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Sinema → dispute → him
'Kyrsten didn't take advantage of me,' he told the Republic.
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he → take → Republic
He was accused in 2025 of strangling health care workers while committed in North Carolina, the Republic reported.
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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.
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jury → relate → September
His trial is set for February 11, 2027.
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trial → set → February
I want to see my kids and my dog Scout and go back in the Army,' Ammel told the Republic.
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Ammel → want → Republic
The Aporia
