Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman’s luggage
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A group of Republican lawmakers are demanding the resignation of a non-binary Department of Energy (DOE) scientist after he admitted to stealing a suitcase from the baggage carousel at the Minneapolis, Minnesota airport.
Sam Brinton, the DOE’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal, was recently suspended following felony theft charges, but Republican Party officials are calling for more action.
The resignation requests came in a letter sent Tuesday to DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm and obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. The effort is being led by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde and signed on by 15 other Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Biggs and Nancy Mace.
‘[W]We demand the resignation of Sam Brinton, and we implore you to set aside petty politics and name only the most qualified and dedicated individuals to influence America’s energy sector,” the letter reads.
Brinton, a 34-year-old non-binary drag queen, admitted to bringing a Vera Bradley suitcase that didn’t belong to them to the Minneapolis-St. Paul on September 16 after previously lying to the police and denying that the luggage was stolen.
The DOE assistant did not check a bag as he flew from Washington, DC to Minnesota, but surveillance footage shows them leaving the Minneapolis airport with luggage from a carousel. Brinton admitted to hiding the suitcase’s owner’s belongings in a hotel room.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 1 A group of 16 Republican lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal Sam Brinton (pictured December 3, 2018) after he admitted to stealing a suitcase from the airport in minneapolis.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
A group of 16 Republican lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste and Spent Fuel Disposal Sam Brinton (pictured December 3, 2018) after he admitted to stealing a suitcase from the airport in minneapolis.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 3 Brinton, a 34-year-old non-binary drag queen, admitted to stealing a navy blue Vera Bradley hard-sided suitcase from the luggage carousel valued at $2,325 after previously lying to police and telling them it was her luggage. Pictured: Brinton was seen heading to the airport on February 28, 2022](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348035_713_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
Brinton, a 34-year-old non-binary drag queen, admitted to stealing a navy blue Vera Bradley hard-sided suitcase from the luggage carousel valued at $2,325 after previously lying to police and telling them it was her luggage. Pictured: Brinton was seen heading to the airport on February 28, 2022
The suitcase and its contents are valued at $2,325 and Brinton has been seen using the stolen luggage on multiple trips to DC since it was stolen in mid-September.
Brinton is charged with felony robbery, which could result in five years in prison, as well as a $10,000 fine.
“As an appointed official, Sam Brinton represents both his Department and the United States,” Tuesday’s letter read. “It is simply not possible for an individual to represent American values and at the same time violate the country’s felony laws.”
In placing Brinton on leave, the DOE failed to provide the context that the employment status change was the result of a felony charge, leading Republican lawmakers to accuse the Department of a lack of transparency.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 5 Brinton, who is bald and sometimes sports a mustache with his lipstick, is known for pulling off fabulous looks. They did not check any bags on their flight from Washington, DC to Minneapolis-St. Paul International on September 16, but picked up a suitcase from the carousel and allegedly hid the contents in his hotel.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348039_245_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
Brinton, who is bald and sometimes sports a mustache with his lipstick, is known for pulling off fabulous looks. They did not check any bags on their flight from Washington, DC to Minneapolis-St. Paul International on September 16, but picked up a suitcase from the carousel and allegedly hid the contents in his hotel.
“Brinton’s actions, coupled with his Department’s lack of transparency in dealing with this matter, reflect poorly on the Department of Energy and raise concerns about the Biden Administration’s priorities in appointing high-ranking officials. It is imperative that we do not allow a person accused of a felony to influence the policies of the United States,” the lawmakers added.
Co-singers on Clyde’s chart are Representatives Brian Babin, Troy Nehls, Randy Weber and Louie Gohmert of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Yvette Herrell of New Mexico, Clay Higgins from Louisiana, Doug LaMalfa from California, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman from South Carolina, Barry Moore from Alabama, Bill Posey from Florida and Claudia Tenney from New York.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy declines to say whether Brinton is still getting paid after being furloughed.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 7 1670348041 261 Republicans demand non binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348041_261_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 9 A letter obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com shows 16 Republican lawmakers calling for Brinton's ouster from the Department of Energy after being on leave.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348043_173_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
A letter obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com shows 16 Republican lawmakers calling for Brinton’s ouster from the Department of Energy after being on leave.
Brinton was photographed on December 1 outside her home in Rockville, Maryland, where she lives with her husband Rieck. The couple married in 2019 having dated since 2015.
The nuclear waste worker made headlines earlier this year after announcing on LinkedIn that he had become Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Disposal and Spent Fuel at DOE, becoming the first non-binary person to accept a position at the federal government leadership.
Brinton hasn’t been at work for over a month.
Kim Petry, the acting deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel, is filling in and told coworkers that Kathryn Huff, the assistant secretary for nuclear energy, had asked her to stay on as head of the spent fuel office “for the foreseeable future.” .
Brinton initially told police after the incident that the suitcase and its contents were “accidentally” taken from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on September 16 around 4:45 pm.
In an Oct. 27 complaint, Brinton is alleged to have been caught on airport surveillance cameras removing “a navy blue rigid-wheel bag” from a baggage claim carousel.
The same day, a woman reported the loss of the bag.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 11 Since 2019, Brinton has been married to her husband, Kevin Rieck (left). The couple began dating in 2015.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348045_521_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
Since 2019, Brinton has been married to her husband, Kevin Rieck (left). The couple began dating in 2015.
After reviewing multiple surveillance videos, he identified the bag as his, adding that the total value of the items in the bag allegedly stolen was approximately $2,325.
Unreleased video shows Brinton “removing the tag from the blue bag and affixing the bag tag to the bag they were carrying” and “leaving the area at a rapid pace,” the complaint details.
Police quickly tracked them down, and Brinton initially denied taking anything.
“If I took the wrong bag, I’m happy to return it, but I don’t have clothes for someone else,” Brinton told police, according to the complaint. ‘Those were my clothes when I opened the bag.’
They suddenly changed their minds and called the airport police to come clean, noting that they had not been ‘completely honest’ and ‘admitted to taking the blue bag’.
Brinton revised his statement and excused the behavior as a result of being “tired and taking the suitcase thinking it was theirs.” It was only after opening the bag that Brinton claims they realized it wasn’t theirs, adding that they were “nervous people who would think the bag was stolen and didn’t know what to do.”
They then went on to claim that the clothing contained in the suitcase had been placed in a drawer at the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel, where they were staying.
No clothing was ever found at the hotel, and when the complaint was filed in October, Brinton had not returned the bag.
![Republicans demand non-binary drag queen is FIRED from DOE after stealing a woman's luggage 13 Brinton, under the nickname 'NuclearNerd', has been keeping busy in his spare time, last month presenting a seminar called 'Spanking: From Calculus To Chemistry'.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1670348046_71_Republicans-demand-non-binary-drag-queen-is-FIRED-from-DOE-after.jpg)
Brinton, under the nickname ‘NuclearNerd’, has been keeping busy in his spare time, last month presenting a seminar called ‘Spanking: From Calculus To Chemistry’.
Brinton has been keeping busy while on leave, presenting a seminar called ‘Spanking: From Calculus To Chemistry’ late last month at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles.
The event was titled: ‘LA Leather Getaway’ and was sponsored by CLAW Corp., a national leather charity.
Brinton, who performed at the event under the pseudonym NuclearNerd, has been teaching his “Kink’s Physics” class at universities and community events “all over the country for years,” according to his profile on the CLAW website.
The bio goes on to say, “They’ve been active in the kink world since 2013, hosting monthly kink parties in their dungeon in Washington, DC, and estimating they’ve spanked over 2,000 cute asses.”
Brinton is listed in the 2019 CLAW yearbook under the name Sir Sam Brinton, where they taught a class on the ‘Newtonian physics of spanking’. They added: “Physics is a fundamental part of the kink experience.” They were also photographed at the event in 2021.