Former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema is confronting a sensational lawsuit filed by the ex-wife of her personal bodyguard, alleging Sinema intentionally destroyed their marriage with a campaign of lavish inducements, including psychedelic drugs.
Explosive Allegations of Seduction and Intrusion
Heather Ammel, who finalized her divorce from Matthew Ammel in November 2024, has launched legal action against the independent former Arizona lawmaker. Her attorneys claim Sinema's pursuit of Matthew Ammel was "intentional, calculated, relentless, and, ultimately, successful." The suit, initially filed in a North Carolina state court in September 2024 and recently moved to federal court at Sinema's request, accuses her of a complete disregard for the Ammel family.
Matthew Ammel, a retired Army veteran, was hired for Sinema's security detail in 2022. The lawsuit reveals that concerns about Sinema's inappropriate relationships with security staff were raised by a former head of security before his 2023 resignation.
A Pattern of Secret Trips and Explicit Messages
The court documents describe a pattern of close, private interactions. Ammel accompanied Sinema on trips, including one to Napa Valley, California, in 2023, after which he told his wife it would have looked like a romantic getaway. Heather Ammel met Sinema briefly at a U2 concert in Las Vegas in December 2023, an encounter her husband said would help set boundaries.
Those boundaries allegedly crumbled quickly. About a month later, Heather discovered romantic and lascivious messages between her husband and Sinema on the Signal app. The exchanges included:
- A photo of Sinema wrapped in a towel.
- Crude banter about military personnel at a baseball game.
- Discussions about sexual acts, which Sinema labeled "Boring!"
- A message from Sinema saying she kept waking up to reach for his arms.
Gifts, Psychedelics, and the Marriage's Collapse
By 2024, the relationship deepened. Sinema purchased gifts for Ammel, including a massage gun for use at her apartment. Most strikingly, the lawsuit alleges Sinema, knowing Ammel struggled with PTSD, substance abuse, and traumatic brain injury from military service, suggested he bring MDMA (ecstasy) on a work trip so she could guide him through a psychedelic experience. She also allegedly paid for a psychedelic treatment for him.
The impact on the Ammel marriage was devastating. By May or June 2024, Matthew stopped wearing his wedding ring to avoid the appearance of Sinema "putting her hands on a married man." He pushed for divorce without admitting the affair. In October 2024, Heather found a message from Sinema to Matthew reading, "I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart, I’ll see you soon."
Heather Ammel, who says she suffered depression, anxiety, and financial hardship from losing the family's primary provider, directly confronted Sinema: "Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family." The lawsuit states the romantic and sexual relationship continued, with Sinema frequently traveling to North Carolina to visit Ammel and even taking one of his children to a concert in Kentucky in September 2024.
Heather Ammel's attorney stated her client simply seeks to hold Ms. Sinema accountable for her destructive behavior, as the case proceeds in federal court.
