(NewsNation) — A teenager was arrested Tuesday in a New York City suburb in the first arrest under a first-in-the-nation law that bans wearing face masks in public, police said.

Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo was stopped by Nassau County Police on a street near the Levittown and Hicksville town line, about 30 miles east of Manhattan.

Officers said they responded to reports of a suspicious person when they found Ramirez Castillo wearing black clothing and a black ski mask that covered his face, except for his eyes. Police said the 18-year-old displayed other suspicious behavior, including attempting to conceal a large bulge in his waistband and refusing to comply with the officer’s commands. The bulge turned out to be a 14-inch knife.

Ramirez Castillo was placed under arrest without further incident, police said. He was arraigned on Monday.

This case marks the first enforcement of the Mask Transparency Act since the legislation passed last month

The stop was likely unlawful: Lawyer

Ramirez Castillo’s lawyers argue the stop was likely unlawful.

“There is no basis to believe that wearing a face mask was intended to conceal identity or criminal behavior, and if that was the basis of the stop, I believe there is a basis to conclude the stop was unlawful,” said Scott Banks, attorney-in-chief at the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which is representing Ramirez Castillo.

Disabled citizens angered by mask ban

Disability Rights of New York, a group that advocates for people with disabilities, filed a legal challenge last week arguing that the mask law is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities.

The federal class action lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to immediately stop enforcement of the ban.

What is the Mask Transparency Act?

The Mask Transparency Act was approved by the county’s Republican-controlled legislature in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The law makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for anyone in Nassau to wear a face covering to hide their identity in public. It exempts people who wear masks “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event for which masks or facial coverings are customarily worn.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.