Florida Man 'Lieutenant Dan' Arrested Due to His Viral Boat

Viral sailing sensation “Lieutenant Dan” was arrested in Florida due to the very boat that made him popular in the first place.

TMZ reports that the sailor, whose real name is Joseph Malinowski, was arrested in Tampa this morning (Oct. 18) and charged with two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court, along with a misdemeanor charge for trespassing in a city park after receiving a warning.

According to Tampa PD, officers met with Lieutenant Dan at Bayshore Linear Park and Dock the day before when he informed them that he didn’t have an accessible marine sanitation device on his boat and lacked a record of proper waste disposal. Because of these conditions, officers deemed his boat a public health hazard and instructed him to move it out of the area

On Friday morning, however, he was still there after numerous warnings—so he was arrested and taken to jail. His team is reportedly working to get him bail.

Prior to Hurricane Milton touching down in Florida, Lieutenant Dan gained popularity for refusing to leave his boat and find shelter ahead of the destructive weather event. In a video, he explained why he wasn’t leaving.

"God told me to come out here and get a boat, I came out here and got a boat," he said. "And everything that he's been telling me over the last few days is that I'm doing the right thing. He's got my back. I'm in good shape."

Last week, Lieutenant Dan went viral, again, for dropping the N-word on a Kick livestream when he was giving watchers an explanation about where he puts people who have done him wrong. "If you want to get back in my good graces, it's going to take time and a lot of work. It's going to be hard," he said. "Cause once I cut you off, you're done n***a...sorry. Alright, that's it, you're done."