Lieutenant Dan, The Man Who Survived Hurricane Milton In A Boat, Arrested

Lieutenant Dan is in the news again for the wrong reasons.

A Florida amputee known as Lietnenat Dan, who gained notability after he survived Hurricane Milton in an anchored boat in Tampa, has been arrested.

Authorities have reported that Joseph Malinowski, 54, was charged  with “two outstanding warrants for failure to appear and one misdemeanor charge of trespassing in a city park after warning.”

His boat was also impounded for not being registered.

Lt. Dan was arrested today & his occupation is sendingggg me pic.twitter.com/xGkp73bWvj

— Taylor J (@TayVictoria8) October 18, 2024

LT. DAN ARRESTED. Joseph John Malinowski, 54, who gained local fame as “Lieutenant Dan” during Hurricane Milton in Florida, was arrested by #Tampa Police on Friday.

He faces charges for two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court and a misdemeanor for trespassing… pic.twitter.com/IvGMSGSJX9

— Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh) October 18, 2024

Here’s what Fox News reported:

A Florida amputee known as “Lieutenant Dan” who was riding high for virally claiming he was refusing to leave his small home boat ahead of Hurricane Milton has now been arrested for failing to leave a park-side dock, the Tampa Police Department tells Fox News Digital.

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Police say that Joseph Malinowski, 54, did not have an accessible device to discharge sewage from his unregistered vessel and did not have a record of proper disposal of waste, which was creating a public health hazard.

Malinowski failed to move after “numerous warnings” and was arrested at around 7:30 a.m. Friday at Bayshore Linear Park and Dock. Officers said they had met with Malinowski the day before when he was instructed to leave the park.

Malinowski was taken into custody on Friday and transported to Orient Road Jail. The unregistered vessel was impounded.

He’s being charged with two outstanding warrants for failure to appear and one misdemeanor charge of trespassing in a city park after warning, police say.

Malinowski’s occupation was listed as “TIK TOK STAR” while his arrest inquiry lists him as unemployed, per WTSB. A representative for Malinowski tells TMZ that his team is working to bail out the viral sensation.

'LT. DAN' ARRESTED: Joseph Malinowski, who gained viral attention on TikTok as 'Lieutenant Dan' for his attempt to ride out Hurricane Milton in his houseboat, has been arrested, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. https://t.co/Oc7KWmSaak

— 10 Tampa Bay (@10TampaBay) October 18, 2024

Per WTSP:

Joseph Malinowski, who gained viral attention on TikTok as ‘Lieutenant Dan’ for his attempt to ride out Hurricane Milton in his houseboat, has been arrested, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
According to his arrest inquiry, Malinowski reportedly had two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court and one misdemeanor charge for trespassing in a city park after warning.

Malinowski, 54, was arrested by officers with the Tampa Police Department around 7:30 a.m. Friday at Bayshore Linear Park and Dock. In a news release, officers said they met with Malinowski the day before.

Malinowski told them he did not have an accessible device to discharge sewage from his unregistered vessel, creating a public health hazard. Officers reportedly told the 54-year-old to leave the park, but he was found to still be there Friday morning after “numerous warnings.”

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While his arrest inquiry lists him as unemployed, Malinowski’s occupation was listed as “TIK TOK STAR.”

Malinowski earned the nickname “Lieutenant Dan” in reference to the “Forrest Gump” character who fictitiously survived a hurricane on a boat. Just a day before Hurricane Milton was expected to make landfall, he went viral on the social media app by claiming he would ride out the storm inside his houseboat.

Lieutenant Dan was arrested this morning and charged with a generic ordinance violation and two counts of failure to appear in court. He is being held without bond pic.twitter.com/csfDexs3Nl

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) October 18, 2024