Man in Kyrsten Sinema ‘homewrecker’ suit accused of trashing her home

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema accused her ex-boyfriend and former bodyguard of damaging more than $200,000 of property at her Arizona home, telling police that Matthew Ammel tossed valuable paintings into her swimming pool, destroyed expensive bottles of alcohol and smashed a mirror.

Ammel, who was Sinema’s bodyguard when they began their relationship in the final year of her Senate term, was charged with aggravated criminal damage, according to a charging document.

According to court records, Sinema showed police video footage of Ammel ruining her art collection while she was out of town in August.

Sinema, 50, told police that Ammel, 39, demanded she post a video to her X social media account. When she refused, Ammel told her that he would damage a painting every 10 minutes until she complied.

“Kyrsten did not post the video, and Ammel subsequently removed approximately 22 paintings from the walls and threw them into the backyard swimming pool,” the report said. An additional painting was spray-painted with black letters.

The episode comes as Ammel’s ex-wife is suing Sinema for allegedly breaking up their marriage. Heather Ammel is using North Carolina’s rare “homewrecker” law to bring the suit against Sinema, who was forced to…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/