Former Biden administration official Samuel Brinton has been released without bail from a Minnesota correctional facility after being charged with stealing luggage from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport last year.
Brinton, who served as a senior official in the Energy Department and identifies as non-binary, was released Wednesday.
The former official was charged with stealing a woman’s luggage worth more than $2,300 in September. If convicted, Brinton faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
The charge is not the only one the former energy official could be facing. Brinton is also accused of stealing a bag worth more than $3,600 last June from an airport in Las Vegas. The luggage purportedly contained jewelry, clothing and makeup worth more than $3,000.
The Nevada case has yet to lead to official charges, but investigators continue to probe the allegation.