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AWhen Hurricane Milton devastated parts of Florida, killing at least ten people and forcing millions to evacuate, one man emerged as an unlikely cult hero.

Joseph Malinowski, 54, first went viral on TikTok after videos emerged of him claiming he was weathering the approaching Category 5 storm on his six-metre sailboat. His seafaring accommodations and one leg earned him the nickname “Lieutenant Dan” – a reference to the scruffy Vietnam War veteran in the Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump.

In the days before the hurricane made landfall, Malinowski had nearly overshadowed the iconic character after multiple news networks, including CNN and NBC, sent reporters to interview him about his brave, if not ill-advised, decision.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he insisted to NBC.

The news reports sparked widespread interest in Malinowski’s progress during the storm, with multiple accounts reposting updates and others expressing well-wishes and messages of support.

“Who else is on Twitter waiting for Lt. Dan’s update? I hope he makes it,” Barstool Sports Cincinnati wrote on X. Another user added, “I check my phone every hour for an update from Lt. Dan.”

“I’ve never wanted anyone to defy the odds more than Lt. Dan,” one user wrote. “If Lt. Dan makes it… he will go down in history as one of Florida’s toughest residents. It will be biblical!” exclaimed another.

Charmed by Malinowksi’s steadfastness, someone launched a GoFundMe page to help the “modern pirate.” As of Thursday afternoon, it had raised more than $40,000.

Even Adin Ross — an influencer known for his interviews with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and former President Donald Trump — got involved. During a livestream on Kick, Ross told Malinowski he would pay $100,000 to buy him a new boat and get him to safety. In an interview with NBC News, Malinowski thanked his online well-wishers but took aim at authorities who wouldn’t “leave him alone.”

“I’m not afraid of the storm,” Malinowski told the newspaper in an interview from his boat on Wednesday. “I’m not afraid of anything except the government, the police, the mayor – everyone is trying to make me leave in the worst way.”

He continued: “If it wasn’t for TikTok, I would be here alone… They don’t do anything to help you, they just tell you to leave… to evacuate. I have nowhere to go… And then you tell me you’re going to put me in a shelter? I’m not going to a shelter.”

The police had indeed used precious resources to control him. A now-viral TikTok arrested a police officer who approached Malinowski, who was on his boat, and urged him to leave before the storm.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced during a news conference Wednesday afternoon that “Lieutenant Dan” had been rescued by police and taken to a shelter that morning. Malinowski was back in his boat in the afternoon.

But this is far from the first time Malinowski has encountered the police. Arrest records – in multiple states – show he has an extensive criminal history.

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As recently as August, he was charged with a misdemeanor charge of selling, operating or using a vessel without title in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, potentially casting doubt on the boat he used to try to weather the storm. That case is still open.

Local Florida newspaper WUFT reported that Malinowski was released in April 2022 after serving a one-year prison sentence in a misdemeanor case for punching a police officer in the nose.

According to the outlet, the manager of the Irish Brigade Bar in Lake Worth Beach, on Florida’s east coast, asked him to leave the bar because he was yelling and breaking glasses. When a responding sheriff’s deputy tried to handcuff him, he punched the officer, who punched him back, court records show. He later claimed he urinated in the backseat of the officer’s vehicle.

Malinowski tried unsuccessfully to represent himself in court in the case and was convicted by a jury after a trial that lasted less than a day.

A statement seen by The independent describes another alleged incident in February 2023. According to the document, a woman was smoking on a bench on the east coast of Florida when she and Malinowski, who was sitting on a nearby concrete bench, began arguing. Suddenly, he poured a one-gallon can of gasoline onto the couch between the pair, setting it on fire, the affidavit said.

The amputee grabbed his crutches and staggered toward the woman, who was still holding her cigarette, and “splashed” her with fuel, according to the affidavit. The woman was unharmed but said she “feared for her life” given the close encounter.

A judge later ordered Malinowski to house arrest, writing in the margin of the order: “violent history.” But multiple reports state that the case was dropped a month later for unspecified reasons.

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The revelations about his criminality rocked the boat. Mugshots of the once-beloved seafarer flooded the internet and changed public opinion.

“Lieutenant Dan’s fourteen mugshots are going crazy. Bro is a menace,” one user wrote, while another added: “I can’t be a fan of Lt. Dan anymore unfortunately.” “Stop supporting this man’s stupidity because you are also supporting a woman abuser,” wrote another.

Malinowski seemed unperturbed that his history had been dug up, telling another TikToker: “I went to jail. I got jail time, but I have to tell you straight out… I am innocent of all charges.”

Adin Ross, the influencer, also refused to withdraw his offer. “We’re going to make sure he gets the boat,” Ross said. “Everyone has a damn past.”

However, one thing Malinowski cannot be blamed for is stolen courage. When asked if he liked his nickname “Lieutenant Dan,” he replied. “I do that because it has blown me up (online) as who I am, but I’m not Dan – I’m not Lieutenant Dan.

‘I was never in the military, and I never claimed to be. And I don’t want people to associate me as a soldier.”