Former Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema will have to answer in a North Carolina courtroom after a federal judge ruled Friday that she can be sued under the state’s alienation of affection law, one of the last statutes of its kind still on the books in the United States. The lawsuit comes from Heather Ammel, the ex-wife of Matthew Ammel, a former Army officer who served on Sinema’s security detail and with whom Sinema has acknowledged having a romantic relationship.
U.S. District Judge David A. Bragdon rejected Sinema’s argument that she could not be sued in North Carolina at all, ruling that nine text messages she sent to Matthew Ammel while he was physically in the state gave the court jurisdiction over her. Bragdon found it implausible that Sinema was unaware of where Ammel was living at the time she was texting him, clearing the way for the case to proceed toward trial.
A relationship that started on her security team
Matthew Ammel joined Sinema’s protective detail after retiring from the Army in 2022 and traveled with her on both domestic and international trips during her time in the Senate. Heather Ammel says she discovered “romantic and lascivious” messages between her husband and Sinema exchanged over Signal in early 2024, which she has cited as the basis for her claim that Sinema’s conduct damaged her marriage.
North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that still allows alienation of affection suits, which let a spouse sue a third party they believe is responsible for breaking up a marriage, regardless of whether the marriage was already troubled. The law dates back to old common-law claims that most states abolished decades ago, but North Carolina courts have continued to enforce it, occasionally producing large jury verdicts against the person accused of the affair.
What comes next
Sinema left the Senate after a single term representing Arizona, having built a reputation in Washington as an unpredictable swing vote who left both parties frustrated at different points in her career. Her attorneys have not indicated whether they intend to appeal Friday’s jurisdictional ruling or begin preparing a defense on the merits of Heather Ammel’s claims. Neither Sinema’s team nor Matthew Ammel has issued a detailed public response to the ruling.
