By The FirstFormer Biden administration nuclear official, Sam Brinton, has been arrested at his home in Rockville, Maryland, on Wednesday at 10 p.m., the Montgomery Country Police Department confirmed to The New York Post. Brinton, 35, previously served as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition.
In 2022, Brinton made history as the nation’s first openly gender-fluid senior government official. However, their tenure ended in disgrace when they were fired from their position at the Department of Energy last year, following a series of luggage thefts.
This recent arrest comes as the latest blow for Brinton. Arrest records indicate they were apprehended on the 700 block of College Parkway, labeled as a “fugitive from justice.”
Only a month ago, Brinton pleaded no contest to charges related to the theft of a woman’s luggage at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport in July 2022. Around the same time, they entered a Minnesota adult diversion program, agreeing to a mental health evaluation following a similar incident at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in September.
This new arrest underscores a dramatic downfall for Brinton. The former official faces a grueling legal battle and an uncertain future, as they transition from a role in the public sector to a defendant in the courtroom.
