![Viral Florida Man “Lieutenant Dan” Has NOT Evacuated His Sailboat Despite The Mayor Of Tampa Bay Saying He’s In A Shelter]()
![Dan in Tampa Bay]()
"Lieutenant Dan" has NOT evacuated his boat.
Yesterday, the ultimate Florida man, who goes by "Lieutenant Dan," went viral after
refusing to evacuate his boat ahead of Hurricane Milton. He planned to ride out the hurricane in Tampa Harbor in his twenty-foot sailboat, believing his boat would survive the intense storm headed their way.
To say the public was concerned for Dan is an understatement
The Florida Man, whose actual name is Joseph Malinowski, says that God told him to
stay on his boat because Noah survived the storm in his arc, and those on land did not survive the biblical storm.
“I’m not going anywhere. The safest place to be in a flood is on a boat. Okay? We learned that with Noah. Everyone that stayed on land drowned. Noah and the animals lived. I’m fine.”
However, after many, including women, filled up his comment section, hoping he'd evacuate the boat before the storm hit land, Lieutenant Dan, who is hilarious, responded to all the comments, wishing he'd find safety and that he'd leave the boat if a
woman agreed to stay with him through Hurricane Milton.
Unfortunately for Dan, he's leaving the houseboat without a woman and has changed his mind. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor held a
press conference this afternoon to inform the public that Lieutenant Dan has chosen to evacuate his boat.
"The Tampa Police Department, this morning, just saved Lieutenant Dan. He has been rescued, and he is now in a shelter as well. If we can get Lieutenant Dan to go to a shelter, we can get anybody to do that."
While the mayor was reporting that he would evacuate from his sailboat, at the same time as the press conference, social media saw that Dan was still on his boat.
https://twitter.com/BrianEntin/status/1844043394722791811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1844043394722791811%7Ctwgr%5Edb518bbe2b3f1ab556457cc3f1cf06dad9b84e73%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmz.com%2F2024%2F10%2F09%2Fflorida-man-lieutenant-dan-agrees-to-leave-boat-hurricane-milton%2F
Many questioned if he was actually evacuating from his boat, but
TMZ confirmed that he had left his boat. The media publication reported the following:
"We've spoken with a rep for Tampa Police ... who tells us they don't actually forcibly remove people. Thankfully, they say, Malinowski has finally informed them he will actually evacuate the boat."
However, with many locals still seeing Dan on his boat after this was reported, there was still a lot of uncertainty about whether he was leaving the harbor or remaining. The TikTok user who shared the initial video of Dan took to social media recently, sharing that he is NOT evacuating his boat and has no plans to do so.
"I wanted to come on here and set all the facts straight about what's going on... Dan is not leaving the boat for the hurricane. He is staying on that boat. There have been many attempts to get him off this boat. People have offered houses, hotel rooms, apartments, he will not leave.
...
We have all tried to get him to leave: the mayor, Tampa police, me, and a bunch of other people. He will not leave, guys. So, do not put this on me, guys. He's a grown man, and at the end of the day, he makes his own decisions."
The creator, who has been following his journey, also noted that he has set up a GoFundMe and plans to donate all the funds to Dan. He also told followers that he wants what is best for Dan and makes these videos to share his story, not to profit from him.
Our thoughts go out to Dan as he prepares to brave this storm, and we hope to see him on the other side.
Local reported Brian Entin also confirmed that as of an hour ago, he was still there:
https://twitter.com/BrianEntin/status/1844113816193527895
