Former nuclear official Sam Brinton, who identifies as non-binary and faces suitcase theft charges, is to be held in a Maryland men’s prison while awaiting transfer to Virginia.
The Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation has a policy of placing processed inmates in prisons based on their biological sex.
Sam Brinton, 35, was arrested at her home last week on grand larceny charges in connection with the alleged theft of a suitcase belonging to Tanzanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC
Khamsin reported the loss of her luggage, including the unique designs, in March 2018.
The Brit was arrested as a fugitive from justice and is now being held without bail in Maryland pending transfer to the case.
Sam Brinton, a former nuclear officer who identifies as non-binary, is jailed in Maryland’s men’s prison before being transferred to Virginia, where he faces charges of suitcase theft
Brinton was arrested at her home in Maryland on Wednesday. Her husband Kevin (who was abandoned in February) was held indoors while Brinton was led out in handcuffs
Brinton can be seen making his way to the airport earlier this year
Brinton is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland, where inmates are housed by biological sex
Pictures then surfaced online of Khamsin wearing the dresses, and later Brinton wearing what appeared to be the exact same designs.
This led to the arrest of Brinton, who previously served in the Biden administration as the deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste at the Bureau of Nuclear Energy.
Brinton was subsequently fired after similar incidents involving the theft of women’s luggage were reported in Minnesota and Las Vegas.
Despite evading prison time in those cases, Brinton is now facing new charges and remains incarcerated without bail in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
Brinton (seen in an outfit allegedly stolen in 2019) was arrested Wednesday at his home in Maryland in connection with the alleged theft of property at Reagan National Airport
Tanzanian-American fashion designer Asya Khamsin (above) says she filed a complaint with police after seeing former Department of Energy official Sam Brinton wearing her stolen clothes
They are currently in “pre-arrival detention” at the county jail but are expected to be housed next week with the general population of the men’s jail before appearing before a judge at a hearing scheduled for June 14.
Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation policy requires inmates to be housed according to their sex at birth, regardless of any anatomical changes that may have been made.
The fashion designer involved, Khamsin, has provided authorities with relevant information about the clothing as part of the ongoing police investigation.
Khamsin initially expressed confusion after seeing pictures of Brinton wearing her designs at events – especially after the huge media attention surrounding the previous luggage thefts.
Brinton is seen at an event on June 11, 2018, in an outfit that Khamsin said resembled one of the outfits that went missing with her luggage in March 2018, similar to the design pictured at right
Sam Brinton (pictured left at a Starbucks in West Hollywood in October 2019) appeared to be wearing Khamsin’s unique designs
Attorney Peter C. Hansen told on Friday that his client “has provided the MWAA with pictures of Mr. Brinton with her bespoke designs and lost jewelry, along with comparison photos showing them on models and Asya Khamsin herself.”
Hansen said during a search of Brinton’s Rockville home on Wednesday, police found “a number of items matching Asya Khamsin’s descriptions and pictures.”
The attorney noted that his client’s luggage, stolen on March 9, 2018, contained “more than a dozen custom-made garments she designed, as well as a number of other valuable items for her business.”
“Asya Khamsin’s business was severely damaged by this loss, which remained a mystery until recently brought to her attention by photos of Sam Brinton carrying items from her lost luggage,” Hansen said.
The lawyer said Khamsin is “keeping her options open” for a civil suit against Brinton, but has not yet filed a lawsuit.
“Certain public images of Mr. Brinton in Asya Khamsin’s designs have been widely published, including on Vanity Fair’s Italian website,” Hansen said, noting that his client’s designs “were displayed in many other publications without attribution” while they were worn by Brinton.
“Asya Khamsin is a black Muslim immigrant entrepreneur and has built a remarkable career over forty years,” he added. “She deserves recognition for her work.”
Sam Brinton was hired by the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste management at the Bureau of Nuclear Energy. They were released in December 2022
In February, the shocked Khamsin went public with her allegations, saying her suitcase went missing at the Reagan National Museum in 2018 and that she has since seen photos of Brinton wearing her bespoke designs.
The Houston-based fashion guru posted side-by-side photos of herself in one of her outfits, alongside a surfaced photo of Brinton in what she believed to be the same piece of clothing.
Khamsin’s luggage containing the outfits she accused Brinton of being photographed in disappeared at the airport while she was flying to Washington, DC for a fashion event in 2018.
The outfits were supposed to be on display, but the designer said at the time she couldn’t attend the event as she had hoped because her luggage had gone missing.