Matthew Ammel, a 39-year-old former bodyguard and ex-lover of former U.S. senator Kyrsten Sinema, has been arrested following an alleged $200,000 rampage through her Arizona home on 30 August. Ammel reportedly threatened to damage her paintings every 10 minutes unless she posted a video on social media; when Sinema refused, he allegedly threw 22 paintings into her backyard pool, smashed bottles of liquor, spray-painted another artwork and shattered a mirror. The incident has drawn significant attention owing to Sinema's public profile and the simultaneous civil lawsuit filed against her by Ammel's ex-wife under North Carolina's "alienation of affection" law.

The criminal investigation valued the damaged paintings at £123,015, with total property damage exceeding $200,000. Ammel, an Army veteran, faces one count of criminal damage—a class 4 felony carrying up to four years imprisonment—and was arrested on 17 September after a psychiatric evaluation. He appeared before a judge via video link and was released on an electronic monitoring device, with his next court date set for 1 October. Meanwhile, his ex-wife seeks at least $75,000 in damages, alleging Sinema ended her 14-year marriage by beginning an affair with Ammel after he joined Sinema's security detail in 2022; Sinema has admitted to the relationship, which she testified became sexual in May 2024 during a visit to Napa.