Tuesday 29 November 2022 10:24 PM Non-binary nuclear waste guru pictured at LGBTQ conference on same weekend they ... trends now
The non-binary drag queen who works in a senior position in Joe Biden's Department of Energy was in Minnesota to attend an LGBTQ student activism conference when they stole a woman's suitcase from a baggage carousel.
Sam Brinton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, admitted to police that they stole the suitcase and it has emerged that the used the bag for the personal travel over the course of the following month.
At first Brinton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, told police they 'accidentally' took the suitcase - with contents worth $2,325 - from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on September 16 around 4:45 pm.
However, they finally came clean and admitted to taking the bag - although blamed 'tiredness' for the 'mistake'.
Brinton was not traveling with a checked bag when they arrived in Minnesota and picked up the Vera Bradley 26-inch navy blue hard-sided roller bag worth $295.
Their reasons for being in St. Paul have been shrouded in mystery until now. DailyMail.com can reveal that Brinton was in the Twin Cities to attend the Out for Undergrad Engineering Conference.
Brinton is pictured wearing a black evening gown when posing with two of the event's coordinators.
Department of Energy official Sam Brinton pictured with fellow attendees of an Out for Undergrad conference in St. Paul, Minnesota
The conference was held at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel, the same hotel where they were staying.
Brinton has been charged with felony theft and is on leave from their job in the Department of Energy. A hearing is scheduled in the case on December 19.
In charging documents, a police officers said that she gave Brinton specific instructions on how to return the bag, something they have failed to do.
Department of Energy official Sam Brinton traveled to Minnesota without a bag on September 16, but left with another person's on September 18, police said. Nearly a month later, they had taken the same bag on a mysterious trip to Europe
Sam Brinton, pictured here, is accused of taking a woman's suitcase from the baggage claim at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on September 16
The bag in question belonged to a woman who was traveling with her son from New Orleans.
Two days later, Brinton boarded a flight to Washington DC, with the suitcase.
Sometime between September 18 and October 9, Brinton took a trip to Europe, with the stolen suitcase, documents say.
On October 9, Brinton was recorded by surveillance footage bringing the bag through Washington-Dulles International Airport on their return from Europe.
That same day, Brinton was contacted by Officer Anne Katchmark of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department.
When asked if they had taken a bag that did not belong to him, Brinton responded by saying: 'Not that I know of.'
An hour later, Brinton responded to Katchmark and apologized for not being 'completely honest.' They admitted to accidentally taking the bag, blaming tiredness for the confusion.
In a brief statement on the scandal, the Department of Energy said in a statement: 'Sam Brinton is on leave from DOE, and Dr. Kim Petry is performing the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition.'
Officer Anne Katchmark of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department, pictured here with President Joe Biden, first made contact with Brinton on October 9
Neither the Hennepin County Attorney's office or Brinton's attorney, Fabian Hoffner, have responded to multiple requests for comment surrounding the story.
The incident has drawn the attention of multiple right-wing figures on Twitter. Recently re-elected congresswoman Rep. Lauren Boebert, 35, posted a pic of Brinton in a dress and tweeted: 'This man, hired by Joe Biden, is a thief.'
While ex-President Donald Trump's son, Donald Jr., 44, posted a screengrab of the DailyMail.com's coverage of the story and wrote: 'Who could have seen this coming from they/them?'
Former Newsmax host John Cardillo tweeted: 'Mentally ill freak and Biden appointee Sam Brinton charged with stealing woman's luggage at MSP. This lunatic knows all of America's nuclear secrets.'
While one-time Trump advisor in the White House Sebastian Gorka posted a photo of Brinton on social media and wrote: 'So this Biden official turns out to be a criminal? Does he still have his DoE Q Clearance?'
Brinton, who has a Master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) writes in their LinkedIn bio that they are working towards 'Solving the World's #NuclearWaste Challenges and Protecting LGBTQ Youth from #ConversionTherapy'
September 16: Sam Brinton arrives at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport without any checked luggage.
He took a suitcase with contents valued over $2,300 from the baggage carousel and took it to a hotel room in St. Paul.
September 18: Brinton returns to the scene of the crime at the airport and boards a flight to Washington DC.
October 9: Brinton returns from a trip to Europe at Washington DC's Dulles International Airport with the stolen suitcase.
Later on October 9: Brinton is contacted by an officer with the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport police in which they initially denies.
Later, they contacts the same police officer to say that they was not 'completely honest' and that they accidentally took the bag, citing tiredness as the issue.
Brinton was instructed by the officer on how to return the bag, something that they has so far failed to do.
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Brinton said that they panicked when they realized that the bag was not theirs and said that they left the clothing from the bag in their St. Paul hotel room.
When asked why they took the bag and left the clothing, the complaint reads that they 'did not want to leave the bag in the hotel room, reasoning it was "weirder" to leave a bag than the clothes.'
The investigating officer said that she instructed Brinton as to how they could return to the bag to the victim, something which they has failed to do. No clothing was retrieved from the hotel room.
Brinton is currently on a leave of absence from their DOE job.
If found guilty they could now face five years in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.
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.
