A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit against former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema can proceed under North Carolina's rarely used "alienation of affection" law, dismissing her argument that the state lacked jurisdiction over her. US District Judge David A. Bragdon found sufficient grounds to allow Heather Ammel's claim to move forward, ruling that Sinema knew her lover, Matthew Ammel, lived in North Carolina with his wife and three children, and that messages Sinema sent him while he was in the state were enough to establish jurisdiction there.

Heather Ammel is seeking damages, alleging Sinema deliberately pursued and undermined her "good and loving marriage" to Matthew Ammel, a former Army member who joined Sinema's security detail in 2022 before travelling with her and later working in her Senate office. Sinema has admitted the affair, testifying it began around Memorial Day 2024 in Napa, California, and that further encounters took place in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona, though never in North Carolina itself. The Ammels separated in November 2024 and finalised their divorce in March 2026; North Carolina is one of only a handful of US states that still permits such "homewrecker" lawsuits.