The park is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area in Queens, New York, and falls under the federal National Park Service control, rather than New York City jurisdiction. Technically, nudity has been banned at Jacob Riis Park since 1983, as it is on other beaches on the Rockaway Peninsula, but enforcement of the rule at Riis Park has historically been lax.

This Independence Day, however, many beachgoers, including Fox, noticed an increased police presence at the beach. The National Park Service said the officers’ “focus was intended to be on illegal vendors and narcotics,” not nude beachgoers.

Officials told DNAinfo that a plainclothes officer had asked Fox to cover up, but he refused to do so, and did not have any ID. (Fox told the publication his ID was stolen during last week’s gay pride celebration.) Fox was arrested after he became “uncooperative,” officers said.

After three hours at the National Park Service station at nearby Floyd Bennett Field, Fox was released and issued several tickets, including two for disorderly conduct and public nudity.

He shared photos on Instagram and Twitter of his arrest and others expressed outrage over his arrest. Fox told DNAinfo that the beach, which was the site of his wedding, has been ruined for him. “It means more to me than any other place in the city, and now I won’t be able to go back without feeling sick,” he said.

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