Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has given sworn testimony detailing her sexual relationship with Matthew Ammel, a former member of her security detail, as she asks a federal judge to dismiss a North Carolina lawsuit accusing her of helping break up his marriage.
Heather Ammel, Matthew Ammel’s ex-wife, sued Sinema under North Carolina law, claiming the former Arizona senator knowingly interfered in the couple’s 14-year marriage and caused the loss of her husband’s affection. Sinema has acknowledged the romantic and sexual relationship but argues that the dispute does not belong in a North Carolina court because the conduct at issue occurred elsewhere.
Matthew Ammel began working as part of Sinema’s security operation in 2022. Their relationship later became romantic while Sinema was still serving in the U.S. Senate, according to court filings and her sworn testimony.
Heather Ammel claims Sinema’s involvement with her husband began before the marriage ended and included romantic communications, gifts, and private travel. The complaint states that love and affection still existed in the marriage before Sinema’s alleged interference. The couple separated in November 2024, and their divorce was finalized in March 2026.
During a July 31 deposition, Sinema testified that her physical relationship with Matthew Ammel began around Memorial Day weekend in 2024 in California. She described later sexual encounters in New York, Washington, Colorado, and Arizona. Sinema also testified that she learned in December 2023 that Ammel was married and had three children.
The lawsuit relies on alienation of affection, a civil claim that remains available under North Carolina law when a third party is alleged to have intentionally interfered with a marriage. The claim looks at the existence of genuine love and affection between the spouses, the loss of that relationship, and the role the outside person’s wrongful conduct played in causing it.
North Carolina courts can consider several factors when assessing the alleged interference. Evidence that the outside person knew about the marriage can also bear on malicious conduct, an element Heather Ammel raises by alleging that Sinema continued the relationship after learning Matthew Ammel was married.
State law limits actionable conduct to the period before spouses physically separate with the intent to remain apart. Heather and Matthew Ammel separated in November 2024, making the timing of Sinema’s alleged involvement and the condition of the marriage before that date part of the underlying dispute.
Heather Ammel filed the lawsuit in Moore County Superior Court on Sept. 30, 2025. Sinema later moved the case to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina after Ammel confirmed that she is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. The complaint seeks damages for alienation of affection as well as punitive damages.
Sinema is now asking the federal court to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. She lives in Arizona and argues that her ties to North Carolina are too limited for the state to exercise authority over her in a dispute involving a relationship that she says took place elsewhere.
Personal jurisdiction is governed in part by constitutional due process, which requires a meaningful connection between the person being sued, the state where the case was filed, and the dispute itself. Sinema argues that connection is missing because the encounters described in her testimony occurred in California, New York, Washington, Colorado, and Arizona.
Heather Ammel has opposed dismissal. U.S. District Judge David A. Bragdon allowed limited discovery focused on Sinema’s connections to North Carolina, leading to the July depositions of Sinema and the Ammels.
The testimony gave the court a more detailed record of when the relationship began, where the encounters occurred, and what each side says about the condition of the Ammels’ marriage. Those facts now form part of the record Bragdon will consider in Sinema’s bid to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds.
Bragdon is scheduled to hold an evidentiary hearing on Sinema’s motion to dismiss on Aug. 19 in the Middle District of North Carolina.
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