The non-binary drag queen who had been working in a nuclear waste job in President Joe Biden's Department of Energy has been charged with felony theft after they allegedly stole a bag from the baggage claim at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Sam Brinton, whose full title was as the DOE's Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, is accused of taking the bag in September. He is currently on leave of absence from his DOE job.
Brinton made headlines earlier this year after proudly announcing on LinkedIn that they had become Deputy Assistant Secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Department of Energy.
The 34-year-old scientist, who was the first non-binary person to accept a position in federal government leadership has not been at work for at least a month with Kim Petry, the acting deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel, standing in.
Petry told coworkers she had been asked to stay on as head of the spent fuel office 'for the foreseeable future' by Kathryn Huff, assistant secretary for nuclear energy.
'I should have another update for all of you in a month or so,' Petry wrote in the email as seen by Exchange Monitor. It will no doubt depends what occurs at Brinton's next court hearing on December 19.
In complaint from October 27, it is alleged Brinton was seen caught on airport surveillance cameras removing 'a navy blue hard-sided roller bag' from a baggage claim carousel.
On the same day, the bag was reported missing by a woman earlier in the day.
After reviewing several surveillance videos she identified the bag as hers adding that the total value of items in the allegedly stolen bag was roughly $2,325.Brinton was in the airport having arrived on a fight from Washington D.C. where they live, but had not checked a bag for their journey.
Law enforcement quickly tracked them down with Brinton initially denying taking anything.
'If I had taken the wrong bag, I am happy to return it, but I don't have clothes for another individual,' Brinton told police, according to the complaint. 'That was my clothes when I opened the bag.'
But then they suddenly had a change of heart and called the airport police to come clear noting that they had not been 'completely honest' and 'admitted to taking the blue bag.'
Brinton revised their statement excusing the behavior as a result of being 'tired and taking the suitcase thinking it was theirs.'
It was only after opening the bag Brinton claims they realized it wasn't theirs adding that they were 'nervous people would think they stole the bag and did not know what to do.'
They then went on to claim that the clothes contained in the suitcase had been placed in a drawer at the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront hotel, where they were staying.
No clothes were ever found at the hotel and at the time of the complaint's filing in October, Brinton had not returned the bag.
Photos shared online show them wearing American flag heels and a sparkly dress while standing over three people role-playing as dogs.
They are also known to perform as 'Sister Ray Dee O'Active' while participating in a group called the Order of Perpetual Indulgence - a non-profit group of drag queens who dress up as nuns to raise awareness of sexual intolerance and transphobia.
Brinton has held various roles in the energy field prior to their latest position, and also served as a nuclear waste adviser in the Trump administration.
Brinton's past is a colorful one. Born in the 1987, their parents Peggy Jo and Stephen Brinton are Southern Baptists who belong now to the First Baptist Church of Perry, Iowa. The couple have three children - Sam, Rachel and Daniel. Non-binary Brinton, who goes by they/them pronouns, previously revealed their troubled relationship with their parents, both 57 – describing how they were forced to take part in conversion therapy as a teen.
Brinton also recounted how they were told to leave the family home in Perry, Iowa, after coming out to their parents as bisexual for a second time while at college – forcing them to move in with an uncle in New York.
Brinton, who is the first gender-fluid person to serve in the deputy assistant secretary role, grew up in Sanford, Florida and Perry, Iowa.
In a 2018 op-ed, Brinton told how they first came out as a middle school student and then was forced to spend two years having conversion therapy – a discredited form of counseling that aims to convert gay people to straight. He described it as 'torture.'
As a result, they went on to keep their sexuality hidden through homeschooling and then again while attending Perry High School after the family moved to Iowa in 2002.
Brinton's parents still work at the First Baptist Church in Perry – a small city of just over 8,000 people 30 miles northwest of Des Moines – and continue to live in the modest $166,000 four-bedroom home where Brinton was raised.
There, the stiletto-loving 34-year-old lived a radically different existence from their high-powered lifestyle in Washington, D.C. today.
Yearbook photos obtained by DailyMail.com show how young Brinton excelled in technology – winning the award for outstanding automotive tech student in their senior year.
Sam Brinton, the deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, was charged with felony theft after allegedly snatching a Vera Bradley suitcase reportedly worth $2,325 from baggage claim at the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport on Sept. 16, according to court documents.
Brinton, who uses they/them pronouns, was captured on surveillance video grabbing the luggage and removing its ID tag identifying the owner, the filings state.
They were later seen using the Vera Bradley suitcase on at least two occasions, while traveling to Washington, DC on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9, investigators said.
They said they accidentally grabbed the wrong bag at the luggage carousel due to exhaustion.
According to the court filings, Brinton said when they opened the bag at their hotel, they realized it wasn’t theirs, but got nervous someone would think they stole it and didn’t know what to do. They said they emptied the luggage and left the person’s clothes inside the drawers of a dresser in the hotel room.
The official was charged with felony theft of a moveable property without consent, as first reported by the local Minnesota outlet, Alpha News.
Brinton — who became one of the government’s first non-binary officials when taking the job — was placed on leave about on month ago following the accusations. Another official was named as their interim replacement earlier this month, according to the Exchange Monitor which tracks government officials’ moves.
A spokesperson for the DOE confirmed Brinton’s leave to Fox News Digital.
If convicted, Brinton could face up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
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