Joseph Malinowsky, the Florida man known as “Lt. Dan,” has been arrested in Tampa. He won social media fame with TikTok posts while riding out two recent hurricanes aboard his small sailboat.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrest records show Malinowsky, 54, was arrested Friday for trespassing and failing to appear in court on previous charges of driving an unregistered vehicle and no valid driver’s license.
Malinowsky rose to fame on social media in the days before Hurricane Milton after rejecting officials’ pleas to seek shelter. Instead, he stayed in his boat as the Category 3 storm’s powerful winds battered Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Malinowski was unfazed, describing the experience as “pretty peaceful,” even though his boat was repeatedly smashed into a harbor wall during the worst of the storm.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Malinowski told CBS News’ Cristian Benavides after the storm.
As the storm intensified, Malinowski described how the winds picked up, causing his boat to crash into a wall in the harbor. To prevent further damage he cut his anchor line, sacrificing a $250 anchor that now rests on the floor of the bay.
“I got slammed into this wall, so I went out and cut my anchor line to escape it,” he said.
Despite the danger, Malinowski remained calm and attributed his calmness to his faith.
“God told me to come here,” he said, explaining that he left Colorado and moved to Florida five years ago.
“I was in Florida for five years, stuck on the East Coast,” Malinowski said. “…I found this boat for $1,200. I bought it. I come to Tampa, and guess what? Can’t flood, not today, not yesterday.”
Malinowsky, whose nickname comes from a character in the movie “Forrest Gump” who experiences a hurricane in a boat, remained jailed Saturday, according to online jail records. Court records do not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
On Friday, the actor who played Lt. Dan starred in the 1994 film as serving lunch to deputies in Pinellas County, a neighbor of Hillsborough County in Tampa Bay.
“We were honored to have Gary Sinise himself, the actor who played the iconic Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump, attend and even serve our members and show his unwavering support for our law enforcement community. Your generosity and kindness mean the world to us!” read a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office.
contributed to this report.
