Lieutenant Dan was arrested

Florida man Joe Malinowski, widely known as Lieutenant Danwas arrested in Tampa. The internet celebrity confirmed her incarceration on Twitter.

Lt. Dan, 54, rose to prominence on TikTok for navigating dangerous hurricanes on his small sailboat Tampa. It last traveled to Category 4 Hurricane Helene and Category 5 Hurricane Milton in September and October 2024.

2:37 a.m

Related

Upcoming Switch Game Delayed by Hurricanes

The upcoming game, due for release on PC and Nintendo Switch, is being hit with delays after two hurricanes hit the southeastern United States.

The TikTok star was arrested on October 18, USA Today reports, citing a statement from the local police department. Tampa Public Information Officer Verliz Williams said Lt. Dan was taken to jail on charges of failing to appear in court for some of his pending cases and trespassing in a city park after being warned to leave. He was previously accused of endangering public health by not having a marine sanitation device (MSD) on board.

MSDs are used on vessels to clean and otherwise manage any wastewater generated on board. Their primary purpose is to prevent the discharge of untreated waste into the water, which can pollute the marine environment. They are required to be on every vessel with toilets installed under the Clean Water Act, a piece of federal legislation that has been in place since the early 1970s.

Lt. Dan sarcastically thanks the Tampa PD for arresting him

In an Oct. 18 tweet, Lt. Dan suggested that he does not discharge any waste, but instead stores urine and feces in “container boxes” near the refrigerator on his 22-foot boat. He characterized the practice as a reason to “lock down” and sarcastically thanked the Tampa PD for this turn of events. Local police said Lt. Dan was still in the Hillsborough County Jail on Saturday, Oct. 19. It is currently unclear if he was released the following day. He did not post any news on social media over the weekend.

Lt. Dan's refusal to abandon his ship at Bayshore Linear Park and Dock is consistent with his track record of staying on board no matter what happened. The last to pass was devastating Hurricane Milton, with winds of up to 180 miles per hour and estimated to have caused up to $34 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest storms in US history. Despite its destructive nature, Lt. Dan insisted that weathering a major Category 5 hurricane is not much of a challenge. In a statement to CBS News, he described the storm as “pretty mild.” Still, the TikTok star admitted strong winds slammed his sailboat into the harbor wall during part of the storm, prompting him to cut the $250 anchor to prevent further damage.

Source: Lt. Dan / TwitterCBS News