A Florida man is charged in federal court with wandering around a campground in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest nude while carrying a pistol and yelling at a river.

Joseph Dennis Alfieri, 50, was cited by the U.S. Forest Service on Sunday with being publicly nude and causing public inconvenience, annoyance and alarm, both misdemeanors. According to an information filed Monday in U.S. District Court, a woman camping near the Cobble Rest Campground tracked down forest rangers to report a man walking in a dispersed camping area naked while armed with a pistol.

The woman told rangers the man wore only a holster for his pistol, according to court documents. He reportedly walked around the camping area "at all hours of the night" shouting at the river, the witness said. She told rangers the man wasn't concerned that he was naked in front of her 11-year-old granddaughter, court documents state.

Rangers found the man, who appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol, and questioned him about the alleged behavior, court documents state. Alfieri reported that he had been bathing in the river but denied wandering nude or causing a disturbance to other campers.

Rangers seized two guns and a large Gerber knife from the man's camp, according to court documents. Alfieri was arrested and later transported to the Wasatch County Jail in Heber City.

On Monday he pleaded not guilty and told U.S. Magistrate Brooke Wells he plans to retain private counsel in the case. Wells set a bench trial in the case for Aug. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Robert Braithwaite. The judge ordered Alfieri to be released from custody as he awaits further court proceedings.

Federal court records show Alfieri's address is listed as North Miami, Fla., but property records show he has previous Utah addresses in St. George, Park City and Salt Lake City. Utah state court records show Alfieri pleaded guilty to a DUI-related charge in 1996.

mrogers@sltrib.comTwitter: @mrogers_trib