Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is facing a felony criminal damage case involving Matthew Ammel, her former bodyguard and affair partner, after Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies charge him with causing more than $200,000 in damage at Sinema’s Cave Creek, Arizona, home.

Sinema, a former Democrat Congresswoman turned Independent U.S. Senator, left political office after not seeking reelection to her Senate seat in 2024. According to court reports, she told investigators that Ammel entered the residence on Aug. 30 while she was out of town and demanded that she post a video to her X account. She said Ammel threatened to damage one of her paintings every 10 minutes if she refused. Sinema did not post the video.

Deputies allege Ammel instead removed 22 paintings from the walls and threw them into the backyard swimming pool. Another painting near the entrance was allegedly covered with black spray paint. Investigators also found shattered alcohol bottles and a broken wall mirror, with glass scattered throughout the house and pool.

The artwork was valued at $123,015, while deputies estimated the total damage to the paintings, mirror, pool and other property exceeded $200,000. Sinema provided investigators with text messages, recordings and surveillance footage, and deputies said the security footage showed Ammel causing the damage.

Ammel, 39, was arrested Sept. 18 after leaving a behavioral health center following a petition for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation. Deputies said he was combative in the hallway during his initial court appearance and did not stand before the judge. No bond was initially set. He was later released with an electronic monitor and is scheduled to return to court.

The Arizona criminal case comes as Sinema is also defending herself in a separate civil lawsuit filed in North Carolina by Heather Ammel, Matthew Ammel’s former wife. The lawsuit was brought under North Carolina’s alienation-of-affection statute, commonly known as the state’s “homewrecker” law.

Heather Ammel alleges that Sinema pursued a romantic relationship with her husband while he was still married and serving as Sinema’s security detail. Sinema has acknowledged that her relationship with Ammel became sexual, but she disputes the basis for the North Carolina lawsuit and has argued that the relevant encounters did not occur in the state.

In a deposition cited in the case, Sinema said the sexual relationship began May 27, 2024, in Napa, California, and continued during encounters in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona. She has maintained that the relationship did not become sexual in North Carolina.

A federal judge nevertheless allowed the North Carolina lawsuit to proceed after determining that text messages Sinema sent to Ammel while he was in the state were sufficient to establish jurisdiction.