When Hurricane Milton was barreling toward the Florida coast in late 2024, the internet didn't look to meteorologists for hope. It looked to a guy on a 20-foot sailboat named Joseph Malinowski. You probably know him better as "Lieutenant Dan." He was the one-legged sailor who basically told the ocean to do its worst while the rest of Tampa was boarding up windows. It was a classic "only in Florida" moment that turned him into a global TikTok hero overnight.
But then, as it usually does, the internet started digging. People wanted to know who this guy was. Was he a maritime legend or just a stubborn transient with a death wish? Within days, mugshots from different decades started popping up on X and Reddit. The narrative shifted from "brave survivor" to "troubled past" faster than the storm surge could rise.
The Reality of Lieutenant Dan's Criminal Record
Honestly, if you look at Lieutenant Dan's criminal record, it’s a long, messy paper trail that spans multiple states and several decades. It isn't just one or two mistakes. It's a pattern. By the time he was arrested in October 2024—just after the hurricanes passed—his rap sheet included everything from minor traffic violations to serious felony assault charges.
The big one that everyone talks about happened in 2022. Malinowski spent a year in prison for a felony. The charge? Battery on a law enforcement officer.
According to court records from Palm Beach County, a deputy was trying to arrest him after he was reportedly screaming and breaking glasses at the Irish Brigade Bar in Lake Worth Beach. Malinowski didn't go quietly. He ended up punching the officer in the nose. In the police report, the officer noted that Malinowski later claimed he urinated in the back of the patrol car. He tried to represent himself in court. It didn't go well. A jury convicted him in less than a day.
The Most Shocking Allegations
There was another incident in 2023 that really made people rethink their support. A woman claimed she was sitting on a park bench when Malinowski showed up. They started arguing. He allegedly poured gasoline on the bench and lit it on fire. Then, according to the affidavit, he splashed her with the gas while she was holding a lit cigarette.
She told police she "feared for her life."
Malinowski denied it. He told the cops he was just trying to burn some "residue" off the bench. Interestingly, the case was eventually dropped for "unspecified reasons," but the judge's notes on a prior order mentioned a "violent history."
Why He Got Arrested After the Storm
You’d think after surviving two major hurricanes in a tiny boat, the law would give him a break. Nope. On October 18, 2024, the Tampa Police Department finally moved in.
They didn't arrest him for staying on the boat during the storm. They arrested him for where he parked it. He was docked at Bayshore Linear Park, which is a public area. The police said the boat was an "unregistered vessel" and a "public health hazard" because it didn't have a way to properly dispose of sewage. Basically, he was living on a boat that was leaking waste into the bay.
The charges for that specific day included:
- Trespassing in a city park after a warning.
- Failure to appear in court for previous charges (operating an unregistered vehicle and no valid driver's license).
He was booked into the Orient Road Jail, and his boat—the very one that survived Milton—was impounded.
Fact-Checking the Internet Rumors
When someone goes viral, the "internet detectives" often get things wrong. This happened with Malinowski too.
For a while, a rumor was flying around that he was a convicted child molester. People were sharing a sex offender registry entry from New Jersey with the name Joseph Malinowski. This was false. The guy in the registry was a different person with the same name. Local journalists and fact-checkers quickly debunked this, noting that the age and physical description didn't match the "Lieutenant Dan" we saw on TikTok.
It's a good reminder that just because a guy has a long record doesn't mean he's guilty of every crime on the internet. His actual history—the batteries, the boat abandonment cases, and the drug possession charges—is documented and real. The rest is just noise.
A History of "Boat Issues"
Malinowski’s legal troubles often involve his lifestyle. He’s been listed as "transient" in several police reports. In 2023, he was charged under a somewhat obscure Florida law for abandoning a sunken boat. He had bought a 26-foot sailboat called the Roan Inish for $1. It ended up sunk against a seawall in Lantana. He didn't have the money to move it, so the state stepped in. This happened a year before he became famous for the smaller boat in Tampa. It seems the "sailor life" was less about a love for the sea and more about having a place to live when you're on the fringes of society.
The Impact on His Viral Fame
The reveal of Lieutenant Dan's criminal record had a massive impact on his wallet. Adin Ross, the massive Kick streamer, had originally offered Malinowski a $100,000 deal. He was going to buy him a new boat and give him a livestreaming contract.
Once the background check came back and those mugshots hit the timeline, Ross pulled the offer. He said he couldn't have someone with that kind of violent history on his payroll. Malinowski’s response was classic Dan. He told another TikToker that Ross should have done his "due diligence" before making the offer in the first place. He wasn't even mad; he was just indifferent.
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Navigating Public Records
If you're looking to verify this yourself, Florida's Sunshine Laws make it pretty easy. Most of these records are public.
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: This is where you'll find the most recent charges related to his boat in Tampa.
- Palm Beach County Records: This is the spot for the 2022 battery case and the 2023 gasoline incident.
- Florida Department of Corrections: You can look up his prior prison stays here to see exactly when he was released.
People often ask if he's still in jail. As of early 2026, his status fluctuates based on those "failure to appear" warrants. For a guy like Joseph Malinowski, the jail cell and the sailboat seem to be two sides of the same coin.
What We Can Learn From the Saga
The Lieutenant Dan story is a weird mix of American survivalism and the reality of the criminal justice system. He became a symbol of "sticking it to the man" and "surviving the impossible," but the paperwork shows a man who has struggled to follow society's rules for decades.
If you're following a viral story like this, it pays to look past the 60-second clips. The "character" we see on screen is rarely the whole person.
If you want to look deeper into someone's public history in Florida, start by searching the specific county's "Clerk of the Court" website. You’ll need a first and last name, and often a date of birth to narrow it down, especially with common names like Malinowski. Just remember that an arrest isn't a conviction, and "dropped charges" are common in cases involving the homeless or transient populations where witnesses are hard to track down.
Actionable insight: Before you donate to a GoFundMe for a viral personality, always do a quick search of local court records. It takes five minutes and tells a story that the TikTok algorithm usually leaves out.