Lieutenant Dan, the Florida man who tried his best to stay put in his boat as Hurricane Milton ravaged the region, had several online supporters rallying to raise funds to get him a new boat. However, per a resurfaced report, Dan, real name Joseph Malinowski has been linked to abusing a young girl back in 2004.
A user took to X on October 10 to share the resurfaced report, naming Lt. Dan as the convict. However, the claims have since been debunked, given that the abuser's name was John Malinowski, not Joseph. Regardless, the one-legged veteran's mugshots and criminal records through the years have come to light, prompting many to lose faith in him.
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Lieutenant Dan says he never asked for help, says others should have done their "due diligence" on him
When Terrence Concannon, 23 interviewed Lieutenant Dan, little did they know their video would go viral. Since then, thousands have been donating to the GoFundMe the former set up to buy Dan a new boat. One streamer, Adin Ross, offered to buy Dan the boat himself and invited him to join his livestream on the platform Live Kick.
However, Concannon told the Daily Mail that he has no regrets, despite not knowing his past when he started the GoFundMe. He said,
"He never mentioned anything about it. I had no idea about [the past] and I am not one to judge. All I saw was a guy needing help and I was willing to give it."
He continued, recanting the first few instances he saw him:
"I would walk by him often and then one day, the motor on his boat went out and he was getting sucked under a bridge so he yelled out. He threw me the rope and I pulled him in."
He also revealed that by then, Lieutenant Dan had already made up his mind to "stick it out" with Hurricane Helene, prompting Concannon to go back and check up on him. According to public records, Malinowski has been involved in several lawsuits and has been in several rows with the cops over the years.
Accusations against Lieutenant Dan revolve around possession of drugs, assault, resisting police, burglary, and battery, among others. Malinowski responded to the heated debates surrounding him in a TikTok video that came out on Thursday.
"He came to me - I never asked for it,' Malinowski said Thursday on a TikTok after the rescinded offer. Then he starts singing about my history. He should have done his due diligence. I didn't ask you for it, you offered it, I agreed. He asked me to be on Kick 100 hours a month, I said no problem, I'm down for that. Now, he's discussing my history and the deal is done.'
Videos online show that Lieutenant Dan has successfully ridden out the storm in his 20-foot boat, as Category 3 Hurricane Helene made landfall on October 9.
While speaking with Kevin O’Donnell, an anchor for FOX 13 News, Dan told the world he's doing "fine."
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