Former Sinema Bodyguard Arrested Again for Alleged Threats at Phoenix Gun Shop
The second arrest of Matthew Ammel within months illustrates how pretrial release conditions interact with ongoing threat allegations involving a former U.S. Senator.
Matthew Ammel, 39, the former bodyguard and former romantic partner of ex-Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, was arrested on Wednesday after law enforcement officials tracked him to a gun shop in Phoenix, according to a Washington Examiner report citing officials with knowledge of the matter. The arrest occurred at a Cheesecake Factory location in the Phoenix area after officers responding to the gun shop incident located him there.
Ammel's presence at the gun shop was flagged as a violation of the terms of his pretrial release, officials told the Washington Examiner. The specific conditions he was subject to have not been fully disclosed in public court records available as of October 2, 2026. The court filing that would detail those conditions is the pretrial release order in his active case in Maricopa County Superior Court or the relevant federal jurisdiction, which has not been published in full.
While at the gun shop, Ammel allegedly held a large knife and made a verbal threat against Sinema, stating he would "take her down," according to officials cited by the Washington Examiner. Whether that statement constitutes a criminal threat under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-1202 is a determination that would be made by prosecutors and, if charged, a court. No independent verification of the alleged statement has been published in court documents accessible as of publication.
Sinema, who served as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from January 2019 through January 2025, left office after choosing not to seek re-election. She had registered as an independent in December 2022, departing the Democratic Party while retaining her Senate seat. Her relationship with Ammel became a matter of public record through prior court proceedings.
Ammel's prior arrest, which preceded this week's incident, established the pretrial release framework that authorities say he violated by appearing at the gun shop. The charges from the earlier proceeding are on file with the relevant Arizona court. The Washington Examiner did not specify the charges from that initial arrest, and the complete charging document is the public record that would contain that information.
Federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. Section 922(n), prohibits any person under indictment for a felony punishable by imprisonment for more than one year from shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms in interstate commerce. Whether Ammel was under such an indictment at the time of the gun shop visit is not confirmed in available public records as of this publication. The firearm he allegedly sought to obtain has not been described in detail in public reporting.
Sinema's office or representatives have not issued a public statement on the incident as of October 2, 2026. The Washington Examiner report did not indicate whether Sinema's current security arrangements involve federal protective services, which are generally not extended to former senators beyond a transition period, or private security.
Pretrial release violations in Arizona are governed by Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 7.3, which authorizes a court to revoke release, modify conditions, or impose additional restrictions upon a finding that a defendant has violated a release condition. The court record from Wednesday's arrest proceeding, including any revocation petition filed by prosecutors, would be the document to review for the specific legal basis of the detention.
The case raises procedural questions about how courts balance pretrial liberty with public safety in cases involving alleged threats against named individuals, including former public officials. Arizona courts have addressed similar questions in prior high-profile cases, though each determination is fact-specific and governed by the individual defendant's conditions of release.
What remains unknown includes the full list of charges Ammel now faces following Wednesday's arrest, the identity of the court handling the revocation proceeding, whether federal authorities have opened a separate investigation related to the alleged firearm acquisition attempt, and the status of any protective order that may have been issued in favor of Sinema. The Maricopa County Superior Court docket for Ammel's case, once publicly accessible, would answer the first two questions. A federal court docket search under Ammel's name in the District of Arizona would address the third.