The rise and fall of a high-ranking nuclear official

Countries & Cities · Published 13 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2022, Sam Brinton made history as the first openly genderfluid individual in federal leadership. However, their tenure as a deputy assistant secretary ended abruptly that same year. A series of luggage theft charges, spanning from Las Vegas to Minneapolis, ultimately led to their dismissal from the Department of Energy.

Having earned credentials from MIT and Kansas State University, nuclear engineer Samuel Otis Brinton acted as the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's deputy assistant secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition. Their career was marked by high-level advocacy, including leading the 'Stand with Science' network and serving as a policy analyst for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Brinton also gained international visibility as a survivor of conversion therapy, testifying before the United Nations in 2014.

However, Brinton's tenure in the federal government ended abruptly in late 2022. Following allegations of theft, Brinton was placed on leave in November 2022 and officially dismissed by December 12, 2022. The legal complications involved multiple incidents, including a July 2022 theft at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and a September 16, 2022, incident at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. In April 2023, Brinton pleaded no contest to the Las Vegas theft, receiving a suspended 180-day jail term and an order to pay $3,670.74 in restitution.

The controversy also extended to claims of long-standing theft. In 2023, a Tanzanian designer, Asya Khamsin, identified her custom clothing—lost in a 2018 disappearance at Washington National Airport—being worn by Brinton. While Brinton reached a settlement with Khamsin that included an apology, the series of legal challenges remains a point of significant scrutiny. Even within the activist community, Brinton's past accounts have faced skepticism from figures like Wayne Besen, who questioned the consistency of Brinton's childhood conversion therapy narratives.

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