#stealing luggage

A fashion designer is going viral after alleging that beleaguered former Department of Energy official and “gender fluid” activist Sam Brinton stole her suitcase and was photographed wearing the custom clothing she had inside the luggage.

Asya Idarous Khamsin, a Tanzanian fashionista from Texas, took to Twitter on February 20 to explain that her suitcase had been stolen from Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. almost 5 years ago. Khamsin says the stolen baggage contained a number of custom-made outfits she had designed herself, and, after hearing about Brinton’s chronic luggage theft, had looked him up out of curiosity. 

Shockingly, Khamsin uncovered a number of photos of Brinton wearing clothing she identified as being her creations.

While the thread has just gone viral on Twitter this week, Khamsin first tried to bring attention to Brinton’s alleged thievery in December of 2022 when she made an Instagram video showing Brinton wearing her pieces.

In her Twitter thread, posted two days ago, she shared additional images of Brinton with side-by-sides of the clothing she had taken at other points in time.

One photo Khamsin provided showed a model walking a runway in a stunning yellow and gold dress, one which bears a design that looks impossibly similar when compared to outfits Brinton has been seen wearing in 2018 and 2019. 

The gold crescent pattern on the fabric appears on many of Khamsin’s designs from her 2018 fashion show, Lady In Red.

Brinton had been photographed wearing at least two of the pieces suspected to have come from Khamsin’s luggage at the 2018 Trevor Project gala in New York City.

Shocked and appalled, social media users began digging through photos of Brinton to try to find outfits that could also be items from Khamsin’s missing luggage.

One user found a photo of Brinton wearing a top which was similar in design to the dresses, and asked Khamsin if she recognized it. The fashion designer claimed the top as yet another piece of clothing that had been in her stolen luggage.

Khamsin explained that she first looked into Brinton as a suspect after his arrest for stealing luggage was reported by Fox News. Brinton has recently been charged with stealing a woman’s luggage at a Minneapolis airport in September 2022. The contents of the luggage was valued at $2,325.

Shortly after his arrest, Brinton was charged again for stealing another woman’s suitcase in an earlier incident at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport. According to police, the suitcase contained more than $3,500 worth of jewelry, clothing, and makeup. Security footage appears to show Brinton walking through Harry Reid International Airport with the luggage in July 2022.

According to the arrest warrant, Brinton had already received his own bags from the carousel before grabbing the stranger’s luggage and making off with it.

Brinton appeared in court regarding the incident in Minneapolis on February 15. He was released without bail. He had appeared in court regarding the Las Vegas incident in December of 2022. In Nevada, bail for Brinton was set at $15,000 on a felony grand larceny charge. The Nevada judge in that case told the former nuclear waste official to “stay out of trouble.”

If found guilty of his charges, Brinton could face up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. 

Prior to his arrest, Brinton worked as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Energy’s Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition. However, he has since been released from his position after the Biden administration came under scrutiny following his arrest.

Brinton’s employment in such a high ranking government role had raised eyebrows even prior to his alleged thievery coming to light due to his profile as a “genderfluid” LGBTQ activist and “kink lifestyle.” 

When Brinton was first appointed to the Biden Administration, an article by Metro Weekly featuring Brinton called “Puppy Love” began to circulate publicly.

In the article, Brinton explains his relationship with another man who pretends to be a dog called “Nubi”. “I can hear when Pup needs something faster, because of the difference in the grunts or the moans,” Brinton said. “I actually have trouble when we transition from pup play to having sex. Like, ‘No, I can’t have you whimper like that when we’re having sex,’ because I don’t want to mix that world. It’s interesting, because he doesn’t have to come out of pup mode to have me f*ck him.” Brinton told Metro Weekly.

As well as pup play, Brinton has also given talks at universities on BDSM. In one seminar titled ““Ropes, Whips, & Kinks, Oh My!!” The Polytechnic“, Brinton discussed various sexual fetishes, including adult babies, diaper play, humiliation, degradation, and more.