Sam Brinton airport pictures go viral as Biden's nuclear official gets fired amid luggage scandal

Sam Brinton, a Biden official from the Department of Energy, was fired from their job following separate charges of stealing luggage from two different airports. The thefts took place in July and September. Only last week, investigators were able to identify Brinton as the accused in both cases.

In June 2022, the 35-year-old was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the department of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy. Brinton identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

Their involvement in both the luggage theft cases has now led to their suspension. On Monday, the Department of Energy confirmed that Sam Brinton is no longer an employee of the department. A spokesperson from the DOE informed the media:

"Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee. By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters."

The first theft was executed at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport in July, and the second one took place at Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis in September.

Images of Brinton with the stolen luggage have now gone viral on social media.

Sam Brinton is scheduled to be brought to court in Minnesota on December 19.

---

Sam Brinton was caught picking up the suitcases on security footage

The first theft

According to the report filed for Brinton’s arrest, a woman who travelled to Harry Reid International Airport from Dulles International Airport on July 6, 2022, filed a missing report to the police when she couldn’t locate her luggage after checking with the airline.

The missing suitcase was described as a hard-shelled grey-colored one from a brand called Away. It was the brand’s ‘Bigger Carry-On' model and was worth $320. But the suitcase carried items worth more than $3500, according to the woman’s statement. It included makeup, clothing, jewelry, and contact lenses.

After the report was lodged, a police officer in Las Vegas checked the surveillance video for clues, and found a suspect, reportedly identified by “several nonverbal cues, or body language anomalies, from the suspect, which caught his attention.”

The suspect pulled the victim’s suitcase from the carousel, examined the tag, and put it back on the carousel. After looking in all directions to check if someone is watching, they pulled the suitcase back off the carousel and again checked their surroundings before quickly walking away with the luggage.

However, police failed to identify the suspect back in July, as a result of which, the case was temporarily closed.

---

The theft that led to Brinton being identified

The luggage theft case from July was reopened on November 29, 2022, when a police officer came across records where Brinton was named as a suspect in a similar luggage theft incident in Minneapolis, which happened in September. The officer immediately recognized Briton’s face as the suspect from the suitcase-stealing incident in Las Vegas.

According to the criminal complaint, Brinton went to Minneapolis from Washington DC without checking a bag. So, it was naturally suspicious when they still retrieved a piece of luggage from the carousel after landing in Minneapolis.

In the security footage from the second theft, Brinton can be seen putting the luggage tag in their handbag after removing it from the luggage.

When police contacted them regarding the theft, they reportedly denied involvement. The former Biden official later called the authorities themselves and said they took the bag by mistake, citing the excuse that they were tired.

The cops were able to identify the suspect as Brinton from one of their Instagram posts, where they were dressed in a white shirt with a rainbow atomic nuclear symbol on it. The suspect from the luggage theft case was wearing the same shirt as can be seen in the surveillance video from the airport.

The bag stolen by Sam Brinton from the St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis was a Vera Bradley suitcase and had items worth $2,325 in it.

For the Las Vegas theft, which had contents worth more than $3,500, Sam Brinton is currently facing felony grand larceny charges. For the Minneapolis case, they are facing felony theft charges.