Sam Brinton is an American nuclear engineer and LGBTQ activist. In 2022 Brinton briefly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, the first openly genderfluid person in federal government leadership. The role ended after Brinton was accused of stealing luggage at airports.
Background
Samuel Otis Brinton was born in September 1987 and grew up in Perry, Iowa in a Baptist household. After coming out as bisexual, Brinton was reportedly sent to conversion therapy that practiced harsh aversion techniques. Much of Brinton’s subsequent activism focused on ending conversion therapy.
Brinton graduated from Perry High School in 2006, earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 2011, and earned a dual master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.
According to an official biography, prior to the DOE role, Brinton held energy policy roles at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Breakthrough Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, Third Way, and Deep Isolation.
Brinton married Kevin Rieck in 2019.
Theft accusations
Shortly after taking office in 2022, Brinton was accused of theft of women’s luggage at airports. The investigation uncovered at least three cases:
- Washington Reagan (2018): reportedly arrested in May 2023
- Las Vegas (July 2022): pled no contest, paid restitution, 180-day suspended sentence
- Minneapolis (September 2022): mental health evaluation ordered
The scandal received widespread media attention and cost Brinton the DOE job.
References
Maxwell, Jill (December 29, 2015). Meet the Nuclear Engineer Leading the Fight Against Gay Conversion Therapy. alum.mit.edu. https://alum.mit.edu/slice/meet-nuclear-engineer-leading-fight-against-gay-conversion-therapy
McDonald, John (July 7, 2022). Gender-Fluid ‘Nuclear Nerd’ Climbing the Ladder at Department of Energy. southfloridagaynews.com https://southfloridagaynews.com/National/gender-fluid-nuclear-nerd-climbing-the-ladder-at-department-of-energy.html
Has Sam Brinton’s story always been too good to be true?. LGBTQ Nation. December 7, 2022. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-brintons-story-always-good-true/
Sands, Geneva; Vazquez, Maegan; Diamond, Jeremy (December 13, 2022). Top Energy Department official no longer employed after luggage theft accusations. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/sam-brinton-department-of-energy/index.html
Graziosi, Graig (May 19, 2023). Former DOE official arrested for third time for allegedly stealing luggage at airport. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sam-brinton-luggage-theft-arrest-doe-b2341647.html
Resources
Sam Brinton (samuelbrinton.com) [archive]
US Department of Energy (energy.gov)
- Sam Brinton [archive]
- https://www.energy.gov/ne/person/sam-brinton
Twitter (twitter.com)