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As Hurricane Milton laid waste to parts of Florida, killing at least 10 people and forcing millions to evacuate, one man emerged as an unlikely cult hero.
Joseph Malinowski, 54, first went viral on TikTok after videos emerged of him claiming he would ride out the approaching Category 5 storm on his 20-foot sailboat. His seafaring lodgings and single leg earned him the moniker of “Lieutenant Dan” — a reference to the scraggly Vietnam War veteran in the Oscar-winning movie Forrest Gump.
In the days before the hurricane made landfall, Malinowski had nearly eclipsed the iconic character after multiple news networks, including CNN and NBC, sent reporters to interview him about his brave, if not ill-advised, decision.
“I’m not going to go anywhere,” he insisted to NBC.
The news reports prompted a high degree of interest in Malinowski’s progress in the storm, with multiple accounts reposting updates and others expressing well wishes and displays of support.
“Who else is on twitter waiting for the Lieutenant Dan update? Hope he makes it,” Barstool Sports Cincinnati wrote on X. Another user added: “Checking my phone every hour for a Lieutenant Dan update.”
“I’ve never wanted someone to defy the odds more than Lieutenant Dan,” one user wrote. “If Lieutenant Dan makes it... He’s gonna go down as one of the most badass residents of Florida. It will be biblical!” exclaimed another.
Enamored by Malinowksi’s fortitude, someone launched a GoFundMe page to help the “modern-day pirate.” As of Thursday afternoon, it had raised over $40,000.
Even Adin Ross — an influencer known for his interviews with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and former president Donald Trump — became involved. During a livestream on Kick, Ross told Malinowski that he would pay $100,000 to buy him a new boat and get him to safety. In an interview with NBC News, Malinowski thanked his online well-wishers, but took aim at authorities who would not “leave him alone.”
“I don’t fear the storm,” Malinowski told the outlet on Wednesday, in an interview from his boat. “I don’t fear anything but the government, the police, the mayor — everyone is trying to get me to leave in the worst way.”
He continued: “If it wasn’t for TikTok, I’d be out here on my own… They don’t do anything to help you, they just tell you to leave… that you have to evacuate. I don’t have anywhere to go.... And then you’re telling me you’re gonna put me in a shelter? I’m not going to a shelter.”
Law enforcement had indeed used precious resources going to check on him. A now-viral TikTok captured a police officer approaching Malinowski, who was perched on his boat, urging him to leave ahead of the storm.
Tampa’s Mayor Jane Castor announced during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that “Lieutenant Dan” had been rescued by the police and taken to a shelter that morning. Malinowski was back inside his boat in the afternoon.
But this is far from the first time Malinowski has encountered the police. Arrest records — in multiple states — show that he has an extensive criminal history.
As recently as August, he was charged with a misdemeanor for selling, operating or using a vessel without certificate of title in Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa, potentially calling into question the very boat he tried to stick out the storm on. That case is still open.
Local Florida outlet WUFT reported that in April 2022, Malinowski was released after a one-year prison sentence in a felony case over punching a police officer in the nose.
Per the outlet, the manager of the Irish Brigade Bar in Lake Worth Beach, on Florida’s east coast, had asked him to leave the bar because he was screaming and breaking glasses. As a responding sheriff’s deputy tried to handcuff him, he punched the officer, who punched him back, according to court records. He later claimed to have urinated in the back seat of the officer’s vehicle.
Malinowski tried unsuccessfully to represent himself in court in the case and was convicted by a jury after a trial that lasted less than one day.
An affidavit seen by The Independent details another alleged incident in February 2023. According to the document, a woman was smoking on a bench on the east coast of Florida when she and Malinowski, who was sitting on a nearby concrete bench, began to argue. Suddenly, he poured a one-gallon container of gasoline onto the bench between the pair, igniting it, the affidavit states.
The amputee grabbed his crutches and hobbled over to the woman, who was still holding her cigarette, and “splashed” her with fuel, according to the affidavit. The woman was unharmed, but said she “feared for her life” given the close encounter.
A judge later ordered Malinowski to house arrest and in the margins of the order wrote: “violent history.” But multiple reports note that the case was dropped a month later for unspecified reasons.
The revelations about his criminality rocked the boat. Mugshots of the once-beloved seafarer flooded the internet, shifting public opinion.
“Lieutenant Dan’s 14 mugshots go crazy. Bro is a menace,” one user wrote, with another adding: “I can no longer be a fan of lieutenant dan sadly.” “Stop supporting this man’s stupidity because you’re also supporting a woman abuser,” wrote another.
Malinowski seemed unperturbed that his history had been dredged up, telling another TikToker: “I went to prison. I did jail time but I have to tell you point blank… I am innocent of all the charges.”
Adin Ross, the influencer, also refused to retract his offer. “We are gonna make sure he gets the boat,” Ross said. “Everyone has a f***ing past.”
One thing Malinowski cannot be accused of, however, is stolen valor. Asked if he enjoyed his nickname “Lieutenant Dan,” he replied. “I do because it’s what got me blown up [online] the way I am but I’m not Dan – I’m not Lieutenant Dan.
“I’ve never been in the military, I’ve never claimed to be. And I don’t want people to associate me being in the military to me.”
