Florida Man Who Rode Out Hurricane on Boat Is Arrested

The Florida man who went viral when he refused to ditch his boat as Hurricane Milton loomed was arrested Friday in Tampa. The charges against Joseph Malinowsky, a tattooed amputee known to his social media followers as "Lieutenant Dan," don't necessarily appear to be related to his hurricane antics, however. He was arrested on charges of trespassing as well as failure to appear in court on previous charges (those previous charges were for operating an unregistered vehicle and having no valid driver's license). Court records show he was still jailed Saturday.

After riding out Milton in his small sailboat, described the experience as "pretty mellow," CBS News reports. "I'm not scared of anything," he told a reporter, but the network notes his boat was "repeatedly slammed against a harbor wall" during the storm and he ultimately had to cut an anchor line, losing his $250 anchor, to stop the boat from continuing to get bashed. He previously rode out Hurricane Helene in his boat, Local 10 reports. His nickname is a reference to the Forrest Gump character, played by Gary Sinise, who rides out a hurricane on his boat. Meanwhile, Sinise himself was in Florida Friday serving lunch to deputies in Pinellas County. (More Florida stories.)