London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Sam Brinton, non-binary Biden official arrested over stolen suitcase

Sam Brinton, a Biden administration nuclear official, made headlines this week after they were arrested for allegedly stealing a woman’s suitcase in Minneapolis airport -- and then using it for a month before claiming it was taken by accident.

Sam Brinton, a Biden administration nuclear official, made headlines this week after they were arrested for allegedly stealing a woman’s suitcase in Minneapolis airport — and then using it for a month before claiming it was taken by accident.

But it isn’t the first time the 35-year-old nuclear engineer has made the news.

Brinton, who uses they/them pronouns, became one of the federal government’s first gender non-binary officials earlier this year when they took on a role in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy.

So who is Sam Brinton – and what path did they take to get in the Biden administration?



Southern Baptist background

Brinton was born in Iowa to Southern Baptist missionary parents who moved the family from place to place.

They told Yahoo Life last month that they came out as bisexual to their parents in high school — and was quickly put into a conversion therapy program for two years in a bid to change their sexual identity.

“It caused a lot of suicidal ideation in my life,” Brinton told the outlet.

“It did a lot of damage to both me and my family because my family was given the false hope that I could just flip a switch, and change when I would recognize that I wasn’t changing.”

Their experience spurred them to launch the #50Bills50States campaign with The Trevor Project, a LGBTQ youth organization, to try and ban conversion therapy nationwide.

“We passed more than 20 laws ending conversion therapy, protecting future generations from ever having to go through what I went through,” Brinton said.

It was around this time that Brinton decided to start pursuing nuclear engineering.


From nuclear engineer to government official

Brinton obtained their undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a nuclear engineering focus from Kansas State University before going on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to receive graduate degrees in nuclear science and engineering.

Before taking up the government job, Brinton spent several years working for liberal and environmentalist think tanks — including the Breakthrough Institute, Clean Air Task Force and Third Way.

They were named deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy back in June.

Brinton celebrated the new gig by posting a photo on social media that showed them wearing a red jumpsuit, bright lipstick and Stars and Stripes-clad stilettos.

In their role, Brinton manages “ongoing research and development related to long-term disposition of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste,” according to their official government bio page.


Views on gender identity

Brinton opened up on becoming the first openly genderfluid person in government service, telling Yahoo Life that they had been given an opportunity to “serve my country as I am.”

“I can’t change my identity more than anyone can change intrinsic parts about themselves, but I can change my openness,” they said.

“And so I am given the opportunity to serve my country as I am, and that’s a really important aspect of my work because I work on nuclear waste management, where transparency and honesty and trust-building are so critical.”

They added: “So if I can’t be myself, it’s really hard to build those relationships. I’m proud to say that, yes, I get to be the first openly genderfluid person in this type of government service, but I won’t be the last.”


The suitcase

Brinton’s arrest for the alleged theft came just months after they took up the federal government gig.

They are accused of snatching a $2,325 Vera Bradley suitcase from baggage claim at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport back on Sept. 16, court documents say.

When Brinton was confronted by police nearly a month later, they initially denied stealing the bag — insisting their clothes were inside the suitcase at the time.

But Brinton quickly backtracked and claimed they had taken the piece of luggage by mistake.

Brinton told police they first realized the bag wasn’t theirs when they opened it at the hotel. They got nervous that someone would think they stole it, so they emptied out the suitcase and dumped the woman’s clothes in the drawers of the hotel room, the court documents say.

Surveillance footage showed Brinton allegedly grabbing the luggage from the carousel and removing the ID tag identifying the owner. Brinton was later captured on surveillance using the same suitcase on at least two trips to Washington, DC, on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9, according to authorities.

The Biden official was charged with felony theft of a moveable property without consent.

Comments

Anna 3 year ago
Time to fire they them him she it

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×