Officials Tried to Help Viral Florida Man 'Lt. Dan' Before Hurricane Milton, but He Chose to Stay in His Boat

• A Tampa man nicknamed "Lieutenant Dan" said in a viral TikTok that he wasn't going to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton and would instead hunker down in his boat
• Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference that the man, whose real name is Joseph Malinowski, had been "saved" by authorities and was in a shelter
• But authorities subsequently said that he had declined to move, though a fundraiser to support him has been launched

Authorities say they offered evacuation help to a Tampa, Fla., resident who recently went viral on TikTok for not leaving his sailboat ahead of Hurricane Milton — but he is staying put.

In a video shared on TikTok by Terrence Concannon on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the man nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan” — after the character played by actor Gary Sinise in the 1994 hit movie Forrest Gump — explains to an interviewer why he wanted to stay in his 20-foot boat despite the imminent threat posed by Milton.

“My faith in God,” says the man, whose real name is Joseph Malinowski. “God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat. He’s been telling me in the last two days I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. We’re gonna ride this one out.”

Asked if he will be wearing a life jacket, Malinowski says: “Hell no.”

He later added, “The safest place in the world to be is my boat.”

The video about Malinowski has generated about 43 million views as of Wednesday, Oct. 9, as well as local and national media coverage. Local officials say they became concerned for his safety.

“After several conversations, [Malinowski] informed our officers of plans to evacuate this morning, and we offered our assistance," a spokesperson for Tampa police said in a statement to PEOPLE.

“Our priority is making every effort to keep our community safe in this storm. However," the police spokeperson continued, "there will be a point where the conditions will deteriorate to the point where our officers cannot safely get to individuals which is why we’re making additional efforts now,” their statement continued.

At a news conference about Milton on Wednesday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor initially said that Malinowski had been "saved" by police and moved to a shelter.

But Brian Entin, a senior national correspondent for the cable network NewsNation, soon said that Malinowski was still in his boat and shared a photo of the man on the water.

“I know the Mayor of Tampa just said in her press conference that Lieutenant Dan went to a shelter,” Entin wrote in a post on X, which featured a photo of Malinowski's head emerging from his covered boat. “He didn’t, I’m standing right here.”

A spokesperson for the mayor subsequently said in statement to PEOPLE that Malinowski had apparently chosen to stay in his boat and refused to leave, which was also confirmed by Concannon, the social media user who initially posted the viral video interviewing Malinowski.

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"Our public safety team has had multiple conversations with this individual to persuade him to make the decision to go to a shelter for safety as the hurricane approaches," the mayor's spokesperson said. "At one point [on Wednesday], just prior to the press conference, he’d agreed to leave his boat, however, it appears that he has not followed through."

"We encourage all residents to heed the warnings that have been issued for days to evacuate Zones A & B for their safety and for the safety of first responders who must then put their lives at risk to save those who choose not to leave," the spokesperson said.

Amid the attention on Malinowski, his past legal troubles have also come to light.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that his criminal history includes a one-year prison sentence for “punching a police officer in the nose” and a separate case last year in which he was accused of setting a park bench on fire and then splashing gasoline on a woman nearby, who “feared for her life.”

Records reviewed by PEOPLE verify that Malinowski, whose name is also sometimes spelled Malinoyski, was released from prison in Florida in 2022 after serving a year for battery of law enforcement or another official.

In February 2023, he was separately accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after a woman claimed he put gasoline on her while she was smoking a cigarette, a probable cause affidavit states. Malinowski told police at the time that he “had thrown the gasoline straight up into the air,” according to the affidavit, and court records show the case was subsequently dropped, though it’s not clear why.

PEOPLE's attempts to reach Malinowski for comment were not successful.

Concannon started a GoFundMe for Malinowski, which has so far raised some $39,000. "We're rallying together to help our dear friend lieutenant Dan ... He's the kindest soul, never asking for anything but always ready to lend a hand,” Concannon wrote with the campaign.

“His current vessel has seen better days, and we want to surprise him with a new boat to continue his seafaring adventures,” Concannonon continued. “Let's come together and show our support for this modern-day pirate by helping him get a new ship to sail the seas!”

Milton, which is currently a Category 3, is about 170 miles southwest of Orlando with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center as of 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The storm is expected to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida later in the evening.