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Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared to have been kicked off a popular New York beach on Friday amid closures that were enforced due to dangerous conditions from Hurricane Erin.
Photos show Blinken — who served under the Biden administration — and a friend relaxing on beach chairs in the sand as they chatted and looked out onto the water at Georgica Beach in East Hampton.
A lifeguard and a parked patrol vehicle were then pictured next to Blinken and his pal, who were simultaneously seen gathering their belongings, including their beach chairs, shoes, bags and a towel.
Blinken — who was barefoot and sporting sunglasses — and his friend were then spotted making their way back across the sand and through the parking lot.
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East Hampton beaches, including Georgica Beach, were closed for several days due to the hazardous conditions produced along the East Coast by Hurricane Erin, a spokesperson for East Hampton Village’s Main Beach Office told Fox News Digital in an email.
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“The water was closed until last night as per Suffolk County,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
While the beach opened to foot traffic around midday on Friday after the tide had receded, the beach was closed prior to that, the spokesperson said.
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“The beach was closed to foot traffic as well all Thursday and Friday until around midday,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Friday we were able to open each beach to foot traffic after the tide dropped out. The storm brought strong rip currents, storm surge waves and large debris. All our precautions were to keep patrons and staff as safe as possible!”
Coastal towns across parts of the U.S. were bracing for the wrath of Hurricane Erin this past week. New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers to exercise caution and to “prepare for the possibility of dangerous conditions along our beaches and coastal cities and towns.”
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“New Yorkers are no strangers to hurricanes — that is why I’m urging those living in areas that may be impacted to stay safe and exercise caution until the hurricane tapers off later this week,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Tuesday.
Blinken is no stranger to controversy over how he spends his leisure time. In 2021, he was vacationing in the Hamptons just hours before Taliban insurgents invaded Kabul and completed their retaking of Afghanistan 20 years after their ouster by U.S.-led forces, The Washington Post reported.
Last May, he faced online backlash from conservatives for playing guitar at a bar in Kyiv as the war in Ukraine continued to rage on.
Fox News Digital reached out to Antony Blinken for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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