The family of Sam Brinton, former Department of Energy official under President Joe Biden, are rebuking their claims they physically abused them and sent them to conversion therapy. Brinton, who’s nonbinary, has previously claimed their father held a gun to their head “multiple times” and was sent to the emergency room several times after coming out at the age of 11.

Brinton rose to national attention when they told their story as a conversion therapy survivor, launching the “50 Bills 50 States” campaign in 2017 to prohibit conversion therapy nationwide. They most recently were ousted from their job in the Department of Energy over claims they stole airport luggage in two separate incidents.

Their younger sister, Rachel Brinton, disputed the abuse accusations to the New York Post, saying their family never physically abused her or her siblings. “First of all, the claims of conversion therapy never happened, nor did my parents abuse my brother or I,” she said. Brinton’s mother Peggy Jo also says she never sent Sam to conversion therapy, “and that’s pretty much the only comment I can give on that because he needs to tell his own story,” Peggy Jo said, misgendering her eldest child. Brinton’s mother doubled down and said the physical abuse claims are lies. “If he had been in an emergency room at any time, there would be records … and there are none,” she told the Post.