Former nuclear official Sam Brinton, who identifies as non-binary and faces suitcase theft charges, is expected to be placed in a men’s prison in Maryland pending transfer to Virginia.
The Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation has a policy of placing treated inmates in jail based on their biological sex.
Sam Brinton, 35, was arrested at their home last week for grand larceny related to the alleged theft of a suitcase belonging to Tanzanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.
Khamsin reported the loss of her luggage, including the unique designs, in March 2018.
Briton was arrested as a fugitive from justice and is currently being held in Maryland without bail pending transfer in the case.
Sam Brinton, a former nuclear official who identifies as non-binary, will be jailed in a Maryland men’s prison before being transferred to Virginia to face suitcase theft charges
Brinton was arrested Wednesday at their home in Maryland. Their husband Kevin (left in February) was kept in the house while Brinton was taken away in handcuffs
Brinton is seen earlier this year heading to the airport
Brinton is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland, where inmates are housed based on their biological sex
Images then surfaced online showing 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 as deputy undersecretary for spent fuel and waste in the Biden administration’s Office of Nuclear Energy.
Brinton was later fired after similar incidents involving the theft of luggage from women that were reported in Minnesota and Las Vegas.
Although he avoided jail time in those cases, Brinton now faces new charges and remains in custody without bond at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
Brinton (seen in 2019 in a suspected stolen outfit) was arrested at his home in Maryland on Wednesday in connection with the alleged theft of property from Reagan National Airport
Tanzanian-American fashion designer Asya Khamsin (above) says she filed a complaint with the police after seeing former Department of Energy official Sam Brinton wearing her stolen clothes
They are currently in ‘pre-placement’ custody at the county jail, but will likely be housed with the general population of the men’s jail next week before appearing before a judge, at a hearing scheduled for June 14.
Montgomery County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department policy states that inmates should be placed based on their biological 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 first expressed confusion after seeing photos of Brinton wearing her designs at events – particularly after the heavy media attention surrounding past baggage thefts.
Brinton is seen left 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 seen on the 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 DailyMail.com on Friday that his client “provided the MWAA with images of Mr. Brinton wearing his bespoke designs and lost jewelry, along with comparison photos showing them on mannequins and Asya Khamsin herself”.
Hansen said during a search of Brinton’s Rockville home on Wednesday, police “found a number of items that matched the descriptions and images provided by Asya Khamsin.”
The lawyer noted that his client’s luggage, stolen on March 9, 2018, contained “over a dozen bespoke garments she had designed, as well as a number of other valuables for her business “.
“Asya Khamsin’s belongings were badly damaged by this loss, which remained a mystery until she was recently alerted by photos of Sam Brinton carrying items from her lost luggage,” Hansen said.
The lawyer said Khamsin was “leaving his options open” for a civil action against Brinton, but had not yet filed a complaint.
“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 without attribution in many many other publications” while being carried by Brinton.
“Asya Khamsin is a Black and Muslim immigrant entrepreneur, and she has built a distinguished career over forty years,” he added. “She deserves credit for her works.”
Sam Brinton was appointed deputy undersecretary for spent fuel and waste disposal in the Office of Nuclear Energy by the Biden administration. They were fired in December 2022
In February, a shocked Khamsin went public with her allegations, saying her suitcase went missing from the Reagan National in 2018 and she had since seen photos of Brinton wearing her custom designs.
The Houston-based fashion guru shared side-by-side photos of herself wearing one of her outfits alongside a photo of Brinton in what she believed to be the same item of clothing.
Khamsin’s luggage containing the outfits she accused Brinton of being photographed wearing went missing at the airport when she flew to Washington, DC, in 2018 for a fashion event.
The outfits were supposed to be on display, but the designer said at the time that she couldn’t attend the event as she had hoped after her luggage went missing.
