Florida's Viral 'Lieutenant Dan' Refused to Flee Milton, Look at What Happened
All eyes in America, it seemed, were on Florida Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton bore down on the state’s west coast.
Many of those eyes were following the daring — some said foolhardy — exploits of a one-legged man who doggedly insisted he planned to ride out the storm in his sailboat moored to a pier in Tampa Bay, where the storm was expected to hit hardest.
Joseph Malinowski, nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan” after the amputee in the movie “Forrest Gump,” became a viral social media star overnight.
Malinowski went viral after a TikTok user who goes by the handle Tampa Terrence posted video of him insisting he intended to stay put in his boat.
While much of the population fled the area, the 54-year-old battened down the hatches of his 22-foot sailboat, the Seashell.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, according to a report by WFLA-TV, “because the safest place to be is on a boat in a flood.
“We learned that with Noah. Everyone who stayed on land drowned. Noah and the animals lived.”
Standing on that logic, the heavily tattooed man refused all offers of assistance from the community.
The warnings were dire; Tampa Mayor Jane Castor even said, “I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” according to Newsweek.
As the storm drew nearer, city officials even got involved, with Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw ordering him to abandon ship.
Malinowski declined, telling his critics, “You’re all robots.”
USA Today reported that Malinowski felt his orders came from a higher authority.
“I put my faith in God. I don’t put my faith in man,” he said.
“God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat. Everything he’s been telling me the last few days, I’m doing the right thing. He got my back. I’m in good shape. I ain’t sweating it.”
As the storm was about to hit Wednesday afternoon, things got a little confusing. Castor even announced during a news briefing that police “just saved Lieutenant Dan,” according to the New York Post.
“He has been rescued, and he is now in a shelter as well,” she told reporters, adding, “If we can get Lieutenant Dan to go to a shelter, we can get anybody to do that.”
But social media posts by NewsNation’s Brian Entin and others appeared to show the sailor still in his boat.
I know the Mayor of Tampa just said in her press conference that Lieutenant Dan went to a shelter.
He didn’t,
I’m standing right here. https://t.co/Wv6NleShNW pic.twitter.com/40c7aLqI9B— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 9, 2024
Other video showed it was a little touch-and-go for a time, as the waves repeatedly slammed the little boat against the pier where it was moored.
Hang in there, Lieutenant Dan! Defeat Hurricane Milton, or Mike Tyson will. pic.twitter.com/LDCQAiW9ma
— parachutesBTC (@parachutesBTC) October 10, 2024
Late Wednesday, after the storm had swept through, Entin posted a follow-up, confirming that “Lieutenant Dan is okay!”
Lieutenant Dan is okay! pic.twitter.com/0uthxRigRT
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 10, 2024
“I’m fine,” Malinowski told Entin, according to WFLA.
Malinowski gave the glory to God, USA Today reported.
“The hand of god was over Tampa,” he said. “It wasn’t too bad.”
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