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    Florida’s ‘Lt. Dan, who went viral during Hurricane Milton, was arrested

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    The man whose determination to navigate Hurricane Milton in a sailboat earned him internet fame and the nickname “Lt. Dan” has been arrested in Florida, according to police.

    Joe Malinowski remained in the Hillsborough County Jail Saturday after being arrested the day before on charges of failing to appear in court in previous cases and entering a city park after being warned to leave, said Public Information Officer Verliz Williams. Tampa police in position.

    The 54-year-old, whose occupation is listed in his arrest record as “Tik Tok star,” was at the Bayshore Linear Park and Dock on Thursday when police spoke to him, Williams said. He told officers he “did not have an accessible maritime sanitary device on board his unregistered vessel and did not have proper waste disposal records, which posed a risk to public health.”

    Marine sanitation facilities are equipment to collect, hold, treat, or discharge sewage and are required under the Clean Water Act on boats with installed toilets, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Malinowski was told to leave the park and was arrested after he was still there the next morning, Williams said.

    His failure to appear relates to driving an unregistered vehicle and not having a valid driver’s license, arrest records show.

    The lawsuits did not list an attorney who could speak on Malinowski’s behalf.

    Malinowski was nicknamed Lt. Then, to the character from the movie ‘Forrest Gump’, who also rode a boat into a hurricane. Malinowski is also missing his lower left leg, just like the movie character.

    Earlier this month, Malinowski defied officials urging evacuations in Tampa Bay, choosing to remain aboard his 20-foot sailboat as devastating Hurricane Milton hit the region, ripping through the state and killing more than two dozen people. Officials said at one point that Malinowski was rescued and taken to a shelter, but reporters found him back on his boat hours later.

    “It wasn’t too bad,” Malinowski said after the storm passed. Tampa was spared a catastrophic storm surge when Milton struck just south of Tampa Bay.

    Contributing: Trevor Hughes and Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAY

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