Janones, the jester in a court of clowns

"Our general"

On the night of October 25, 2026, in his first speech after being re-elected, Brazil's president Lula (Workers' Party, PT) thanked "our general": federal congressman André Janones (Rede party, Minas Gerais state) (AFP, via Buenos Aires Times).

Janones ran "Lula's Army", a WhatsApp channel that had about 60,000 followers after the first round of the election and reached nearly 11 million on voting day (Al Jazeera). Analysts interviewed by CNN credit Lula's comeback partly to that mobilization.

The road to that stage began ten years earlier, with a defeat in a small city in the state of Minas Gerais.

Events are shown in order, not to scale; each color marks a type of event, detailed in the chapters below.

2016 to 2018: from Ituiutaba to Congress

In 2016, lawyer André Janones ran for mayor of Ituiutaba, in Minas Gerais, for the PSC party and came second, with 13,759 votes (BP Money). The campaign left debts that would return to the news seven years later: in a 2019 recording, he says he lost his house, his car, his savings and his private pension in that race (TNH1).

In May 2018, during a nationwide truckers' strike, he gained a large following online by presenting himself as a spokesman for the truckers, although he was not one (IstoÉ). In October, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil's lower house, for the Avante party, with 178,660 votes (BP Money).

He was sworn in on February 1, 2019. Four days later, he gathered his staff in a meeting room in Congress.

2019 to 2021: the February 5 meeting and the R$ 600 aid

On February 5, 2019, four days after taking office, Janones held a 49-minute meeting with his office staff in a room in Congress (Diário do Nordeste). His then aide Cefas Luiz recorded the conversation, which would only become public in November 2023 (DGABC).

In the recording, he says some staff members would receive higher salaries in order to help him pay off the debts from his 2016 campaign. He also says it is not fair for him to earn R$ 25,000 (about US$ 4,600) and use R$ 15,000 (about US$ 2,800) to pay that debt (Correio, with Estadão).

In 2019 and 2020, with his name on Brazil's credit blacklists, Janones had personal expenses paid with an aide's credit card. He himself would acknowledge this in 2025, in a deal with the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) (DGABC).

In 2020, during the pandemic, the government of Jair Bolsonaro (then without a party) cut the emergency aid paid to low-income Brazilians from R$ 600 (about US$ 110) to R$ 300 (about US$ 55). Janones led the online campaign to bring back the R$ 600, with live broadcasts of congressional sessions, and for three weeks in a row was the most influential congressman on social media in the FSB index (Poder360/FSB; Manchetômetro).

Then and now

December 2023. Janones said the proposal was made "when he was not yet a congressman", to people who were not yet his aides, and that it was never carried out because his lawyer vetoed it (O Povo).

The record. The meeting took place on February 5, 2019, after he took office, according to former aides and a second excerpt of the recording published by Metrópoles on December 4, 2023 (same source). In 2025, in the deal with the PGR, he admitted that an aide had paid his expenses in 2019 and 2020.

In 2022, the followers he won with the aid campaign turned into a presidential bid.

2022: the presidential hopeful who became a "general"

In 2022, the Avante party launched Janones as a presidential candidate. In July, he had 2% in the Datafolha poll and defended making the R$ 600 aid permanent (Correio Braziliense).

On August 4, in a live broadcast alongside Lula (PT), he withdrew and endorsed him in the first round (Poder360). It was agreed that he would join the campaign's social media team (Tribuna de Jundiaí). At the time, he had 12 million followers (Congresso em Foco).

Jair Bolsonaro's campaign (Liberal Party, PL) asked the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to suspend his accounts. Its lawyers called him a "fake news factory" and also sought to strip Lula and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) of their candidacies (Poder360). The court did not suspend the accounts, but ruled case by case:

Roberto Jefferson, a former congressman from the PTB party, had met the Federal Police officers sent to arrest him with gunfire and grenades the day before (Agência Brasil, via A Gazeta).

In October, Janones was re-elected to Congress with 238,967 votes (BP Money). Lula won the runoff on October 30.

Then and now

August 2022, to Folha de S.Paulo. "Technically speaking, I did not spread any fake news" (Mais Goiás, with Folha).

October 2023, to Poder360, about his own book. "I manipulate information" (Poder360).

A year after the election, he would tell in a book what he did on the eve of the final debate.

2023: the book, the court order and the recording

In April 2023, a court in Minas Gerais ordered Janones to pay R$ 5,000 (about US$ 900) in damages to congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL, Minas Gerais), over posts insinuating that his colleague was involved in pedophilia cases (Estado de Minas; Revista Oeste). On September 29, the ruling was upheld, and Janones said he would comply (Poder360, via Terra Brasil).

On October 28, the newspaper O Globo revealed the contents of his book "Janonismo cultural: o uso das redes sociais e a batalha pela democracia no Brasil" ("Cultural Janonism: social media and the battle for democracy in Brazil"), published by Record on November 20 (Record). In the chapter "Bebianno's phone", he tells how he made up a claim that he had the phone of Gustavo Bebianno, a former Bolsonaro minister who died in March 2020, shortly before the TV Globo debate, the last one before the 2022 runoff (Folha PE). The book also describes the rumor that former president Fernando Collor (PTB, Alagoas) would be a minister in a second Bolsonaro government (Poder360).

Janones said O Globo was lying: the book was about bluffing, not fake news. He admitted his method was "ethically dubious" (Gazeta do Povo). On October 30, 41 opposition congressmen filed a request with the Supreme Court for him to be investigated (Poder360) and included in the court's fake news inquiry (Gazeta do Povo). Bolsonaro's lawyers took the book to the Electoral Court to try to reopen the case to strip him of his seat (BNews).

On November 27, the news site Metrópoles published the recording of February 5, 2019. Janones called it clandestine, said it was taken out of context and told UOL he had never run a "rachadinha" nor received money from aides (TNH1). "Rachadinha" is the Brazilian term for a kickback scheme in which a lawmaker keeps part of his own staff's salaries. He also called the accusations "fake news" and blamed the far right (Gazeta do Povo).

The next day, he asked his "soldiers" to defend him online (DGABC). Former aides Cefas Luiz Paulino and Fabrício Ferreira de Oliveira said the scheme was carried out (Gazeta do Povo, same report).

Then and now

November 2023. Janones said the recording was about a voluntary collection among staff: "What kind of kickback is it when someone earns R$ 15,000 a month and gives back R$ 50?" (about US$ 2,800 and US$ 9) (Poder360).

March 2025. In the deal with the PGR, he formally admitted the crime and agreed to pay R$ 131,000 (about US$ 24,000) to the Chamber of Deputies (Jovem Pan).

In 2024, the case went down two paths: the Chamber's Ethics Council and the Federal Police.

2024: the case is shelved, the mall and the police

In January 2024, the Federal Police told the Supreme Court it saw signs that public funds had been misused in his office (Congresso em Foco). In April, police forensics confirmed that the voice in the recording was his. Before the Ethics Council, his defense spoke of an edited recording and of political persecution linked to the Bolsonaro family (Gazeta do Povo).

On June 5, the Ethics Council shelved the kickback accusation, with a report by congressman Guilherme Boulos (PSOL, São Paulo) in Janones's favor (CartaCapital; O Antagonista).

On August 6, at Brasília Shopping, Janones argued with two men who, according to him, were Bolsonaro supporters, spat at one of them and was escorted out by security guards (Folha Vitória). He said he acted in self-defense, fearing an assault (Revista Oeste). Online, he reposted a message calling for him and his family to be killed (IstoÉ).

That same year, in a shouting match with Nikolas Ferreira on the floor of the Chamber, he threatened to punch his colleague (Folha Vitória; Gazeta do Povo).

On September 12, the Federal Police formally named him a suspect for embezzlement of public funds, criminal association and passive corruption, together with an aide and a former aide (Poder360). The police report describes him as the "central axis" of the scheme (O Antagonista). Deputy Prosecutor General Hindenburgo Chateaubriand saw evidence of a kickback scheme, but proposed a deal to close the case (CartaCapital).

Then and now

September 2024, online, after being named a suspect. "This has nothing to do with embezzlement" (Congresso em Foco).

March 2025. The Supreme Court approves the non-prosecution agreement over the kickback scheme, which it describes as the crime of embezzlement (STF).

In March 2025, the last word on the case came from Janones himself.

2025: the confession and the suspension

On March 6, 2025, Janones signed a non-prosecution agreement with the Office of the Prosecutor General. He acknowledged that, in 2019 and 2020, he used an aide's credit card to pay personal expenses (O Fator). He agreed to return R$ 131,500 (about US$ 24,000) to the Chamber of Deputies and to pay a R$ 26,300 (about US$ 4,900) fine, equal to 20% of the damage. Under the deal, prosecutors do not file charges (Gazeta do Povo).

On March 13, at a hearing at the Supreme Court, he confirmed the deal. On March 19, Justice Luiz Fux approved it (Portal de Prefeitura). Former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol (Novo party) criticized what he called a double standard (O Antagonista). Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil, Paraná) introduced a bill nicknamed the "Janones bill", to force anyone who admits a crime in such a deal to resign (InfoMoney).

On April 11, 2025, it became public that the mayor of Ituiutaba, Leandra Guedes (Avante), had obtained a protective order against Janones from the Minas Gerais courts under the Maria da Penha Law, Brazil's domestic violence statute. According to her lawyers, the two lived together in a common-law union from 2014 to 2018. Leandra worked as Janones's aide before being elected mayor in 2020, and was investigated alongside him in the kickback case, without being charged (O Fator).

The case is sealed. According to the complaint, on December 17, 2024, Janones called the city's health secretary, showed him intimate material of the mayor and threatened to expose it. The pressure, according to the complaint, was meant to make her fire the city's chief attorney, who had clashed with Carla Janones, the congressman's sister and the city's administration secretary. The attorney stayed; Carla was dismissed on January 6, 2025, after the order was issued (O Fator, above). DGABC dates the decision to December 2024 (DGABC).

The decision, issued by an on-duty court, bars Janones from contacting the mayor or her family, from coming within 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) of her, her relatives or witnesses, from going to places she frequents and from sharing any intimate material of hers (O Fator, above). The court authorized his arrest if he violates it (Diário do Poder). Janones denied it in a video: "I did not send any photo, I did not commit any crime" (Itatiaia).

On July 9, during a speech by Nikolas Ferreira (PL, Minas Gerais) on the floor, Janones insulted him and got into a shouting match with PL congressmen. He says he was attacked (Mais Goiás). On July 15, the Ethics Council voted 16 to 3 to suspend his mandate for three months as a precautionary measure (Diário de Pernambuco). The rapporteur, Fausto Santos Jr. (União Brasil, Amazonas), considered the words he used homophobic (SBT News).

Janones announced he would appeal to the full Chamber, but gave up after lawmakers signaled the penalty could rise to six months (Gazeta do Povo). He returned to Congress on October 13 (Congresso em Foco). By then he faced ten complaints before the Council (O Fator). In November, the Council refused to shelve one of them, which accuses him of giving false information to the Chamber when he denied the kickback scheme in 2024 (O Fator).

Then and now

September 2023, when ordered to compensate Nikolas. Janones said a democrat complies with a decision he disagrees with (Poder360, via Terra Brasil).

July 2025, when suspended. He called the penalty "disproportionate" and announced an appeal (Diário de Pernambuco). He dropped it the next day (Gazeta do Povo, above).

In 2026, an election year, Janones switched parties and returned to the center of Lula's campaign.

2026: "Lula's Army"

In March 2026, during the window in which lawmakers may switch parties, Janones left Avante after eight years and joined Rede Sustentabilidade, which runs in a federation with PSOL (Pleno News). According to allies, he left because he believed Avante had moved closer to the right (O Fator). In June, he became Rede's leader in the Chamber and declared: "If I already caused havoc before". He added that he would now finish burying the far right (Revista Oeste, with Metrópoles).

In April, he had created the "Lula's Army" WhatsApp channel (AFP, via Buenos Aires Times). On October 4, in the first round, he was re-elected to Congress for Rede (BP Money), and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL, Rio de Janeiro), the former president's son, finished ahead of Lula in the presidential race (CNN). From then on, Janones handed out daily "missions" to his followers: hashtags, comments, likes and recruitment (CNN, same report).

The size of the channel was reported at different times by different sources. CNN puts it at 50,000 followers before the first round; Al Jazeera, at about 60,000 after it.

The two Electoral Court suspensions did not stop the growth: between October 13 and 25, the channel more than doubled.

The 2025 protective order came back into the campaign. In March 2026, Leandra Guedes said on social media that she had suffered psychological and political violence from the congressman, though not physical; asked by Itatiaia, he did not reply (Itatiaia). On October 23, the day of the last debate before the runoff, at the Globo studios in Rio, a column by Letícia Casado at UOL revealed that Flávio's allies had invited the mayor to watch the debate. With the order in force, her presence could bar his. Lula's campaign confirmed that Janones would not go to the studios and would follow the debate on an online broadcast, which he had announced the day before (DGABC, above).

Leandra went to the debate. The next day she said: "It's not about revenge, it never was." Janones said he had not planned to go anyway, because he would be doing a 24-hour live broadcast in support of Lula, and disputed his former partner's account (Poder360).

Then and now

October 11, 2026, when the channel came back online. "The censorship has fallen!" (O Povo).

November 2, 2026. Professor Viktor Chagas (Fluminense Federal University), interviewed by CNN, describes Janones's method: emotionally charged messages, aggressive language and, at times, content of dubious origin (CNN, above).

The Bar: three suspensions and the risk of expulsion

Janones is a lawyer registered with the Minas Gerais section of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB, Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) since May 2009 (Aos Fatos). Between 2021 and 2025, the Minas Gerais section suspended him three times. The proceedings are sealed, and the certificate confirming the suspensions does not give the reasons (Revista Oeste).

The reasons were never officially disclosed. According to a source heard by Itatiaia, at least one of the violations was refusing to hand a client the money from a case he had won (Itatiaia). Under the Statute of the Legal Profession (Law 8,906 of 1994), refusing without justification to render accounts to a client is a violation (article 34, item XXI), and a suspension on that ground lasts until the accounts are rendered (article 37, paragraph 2) (Planalto, Law 8,906/1994).

Janones's version, given by his team in February 2025: one of the sanctions, which came from a client's complaint, was overturned at first instance after she confirmed she had made no payments to him. His team also said that in September 2021 he asked to cancel his registration because he no longer wanted to practice law (O Fator, above). We found no record that the cancellation went through: in 2024 and 2025, his registration appeared as suspended.

In December 2024, Janones asked the Prosecutor General's Office to dissolve the PL, Bolsonaro's party. He did not present himself as a lawyer, but he signed the request with registration number 119.293, which was listed as suspended in the OAB's records (Poder360). Asked by the newspaper Estadão, he did not reply (IstoÉ Dinheiro, with Estadão).

Under the Statute, a lawyer suspended three times may be expelled from the Bar (article 38, item I). Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote of the section's council (O Fator, above). In March 2026, Itatiaia reported that Janones may be expelled, that he can still appeal to the full council of the Minas Gerais section and that, according to one person familiar with the case, he is unlikely to succeed. The Minas Gerais section did not confirm that any proceedings exist, citing secrecy. Asked by the Poder em Minas column, Janones replied with a Portuguese vulgarity meaning "I don't give a damn". His office said he had already asked "several times" to be removed from the Bar's rolls (Itatiaia). The photo caption in the first report says he "was expelled", but the text says he "may be".

In June 2026, Janones went to court against a post saying he had been expelled from the Bar. His lawyers said he remains regularly registered (Itatiaia). Judge Geilza Fátima Diniz, of the Federal District Court of Justice, refused to order the post removed: his current registration does not rule out a future sanction, and taking the text down before hearing the other side would be censorship. Judge Sálvio Chaves, of the Minas Gerais Regional Electoral Court, ordered it removed as early campaigning, because Janones was then a pre-candidate for governor of the state (Metrópoles).

Then and now

February 2019. After the Brumadinho dam disaster, which killed 270 people, Janones said on social media he had been warned he would be expelled from the Bar if he worked for free for the victims' families. Aos Fatos concluded that the claim that the Bar was threatening to expel lawyers who helped the victims was false (Aos Fatos).

March 2026. Facing possible expulsion after three suspensions, his answer was one vulgar word: "I don't give a damn" (Itatiaia).

Where things stand

Janones has no criminal conviction. He has one civil judgment, one suspension of his mandate and one confession made in a deal so that he would not be prosecuted.

In Congress, the accusation was shelved in 2024. In the courts, it ended in a deal, with no charges and no conviction. We did not find the Supreme Court's final decision on ending punishability.

Sources

In order of publication. Most sources are in Portuguese; some require a subscription.

Legislation

• Law 8,906/1994, Statute of the Legal Profession and the OAB, Planalto

2019

• OAB did not threaten to expel lawyers working for free for Brumadinho victims' families, Aos Fatos, February 2019
• OAB does not threaten to expel lawyers working for free for Brumadinho victims, OAB Federal Council, Feb 5, 2019

2020 - Sep 2020 — FSB Influência, via Poder360: Janones is the most influential congressman online - Oct 2020 — Manchetômetro: report 116

2022 - May 10 — IstoÉ: Among presidential hopefuls, Janones grows 1,000% - July — Correio Braziliense: Avante confirms Janones as candidate - Aug 4 — Poder360: Janones drops his bid and backs Lula - Aug 4 — Tribuna de Jundiaí: Janones gives up and backs Lula - August — Congresso em Foco: Janones withdraws his candidacy - August — Mais Goiás: Bolsonaro campaign asks for Janones's accounts to be suspended - August — Poder360: Bolsonaro asks to strip Lula, Alckmin and Janones - Aug 27 — O Antagonista: Electoral Court denies Bolsonaro's request - Sep 8 — Metrópoles: Electoral Court orders posts removed - Oct 18 — Poder360: Electoral Court gives Janones three days to explain - Oct 22 — Revista Oeste: Electoral Court's new powers used against Janones's posts - Oct 24 — Agência Brasil, via A Gazeta: Roberto Jefferson taken to prison - Oct 24 — O Povo: Electoral Court removes posts linking Jefferson to Bolsonaro - Oct 24 — Money Times: Electoral Court orders posts taken down

2023 - Apr 24 — Estado de Minas: Nikolas says Janones was convicted - Sep 29 — Poder360, via Terra Brasil: ruling upheld - October — Poder360: Janones suggests he used "fake news" - October — Poder360: "ethically dubious" method, but no fake news - October — Gazeta do Povo: Janones says he manipulated information - October — Folha PE: 41 congressmen ask the Supreme Court to investigate Janones - Oct 30 — Poder360: Congressmen ask the Supreme Court to investigate Janones - Oct 31 — Gazeta do Povo: Opposition asks the Supreme Court to investigate Janones - November — BNews: Bolsonaro's strategy to unseat Janones - Nov 20 — Record: Janonismo cultural (book page) - Nov 27 — TNH1: Recording points to alleged kickback scheme - Nov 27 — Correio, with Estadão: Janones accused of kickback scheme - Nov 27 — Diário do Nordeste: recording taken out of context, says Janones - November — Poder360: Janones denies scheme and says he proposed a collection - November — Gazeta do Povo: All the accusations against Janones - Dec 4 — O Povo: New recording contradicts Janones's account

2024 - April — Gazeta do Povo: Police forensics confirm Janones's voice - Aug 6 — Folha Vitória: Janones spits at man in mall - Aug 6 — Revista Oeste: Janones argues with and spits at man - Aug 7 — IstoÉ: Janones spits at man after argument - 2024 — Folha Vitória: Nikolas and Janones clash in Congress - Sep 12 — Congresso em Foco: Police name Janones a suspect - Sep 12 — O Antagonista: Police name Janones a suspect in kickback case - September — Poder360: Fux sends bank data analysis to prosecutors - 2024 — CartaCapital: Prosecutors see evidence but propose a deal - Janones uses suspended OAB registration in request to dissolve the PL, Poder360, December 2024 - Janones signs request to dissolve the PL with suspended OAB registration, IstoÉ Dinheiro, with Estadão, Dec 3, 2024 - Janones uses suspended OAB registration in request sent to the Prosecutor General, Bahia Notícias, December 2024 - Janones uses suspended OAB registration in request to dissolve the PL, Revista Oeste, December 2024

2025 - Mar 6 — O Fator: Janones confesses in deal with prosecutors - Mar 6 — O Antagonista: Dallagnol criticizes the deal - March — Gazeta do Povo: Janones signs deal and will repay R$ 131,000 - Mar 7 — DGABC: The kickback case, step by step - March — Jovem Pan: Fux approves the deal - March — Supreme Court: deal over kickback scheme approved - Mar 19 — Portal de Prefeitura: Supreme Court approves deal - March — InfoMoney: Moro introduces "Janones bill" - Jul 15 — Diário de Pernambuco: mandate suspended for three months - Jul 15 — SBT News: Council suspends mandate for 90 days - July — Mais Goiás: Council approves suspension - Jul 16 — Gazeta do Povo: Janones backs down and accepts suspension - Aug 5 — Congresso em Foco: Council opens proceedings - October — O Fator: ten complaints before the Council - Oct 21 — Congresso em Foco: Janones denies insulting Nikolas at hearing - November — O Fator: Council refuses to shelve complaint - Dec 3 — Chamber of Deputies: Ethics Council transcript - The risk of André Janones being expelled from the OAB, O Fator, Feb 17, 2025 - Janones receives third suspension and may be expelled from the OAB, Revista Oeste, 2025 - Court grants protective order against Janones over alleged sharing of mayor's intimate photos, O Fator, Apr 11, 2025 - Court authorizes Janones's arrest if he violates protective orders, Diário do Poder, April 2025

2026 - January — O Fator: Janones wants to talk to Lula before choosing a party - June — Revista Oeste: Janones becomes Rede leader - July — Correio da Manhã: notified of Michelle Bolsonaro's complaint - 2026 — Itatiaia: prosecutors ask for punishability to be extinguished - 2026 — CartaCapital: Mendonça assigned Bolsonaro's case against Janones - 2026 — Gazeta do Povo: judge dismisses Bolsonaro's suit against Janones - 2026 — Pleno News: Janones left Avante in March - Oct 4 — BP Money: Janones re-elected - Oct 8 — Correio: Electoral Court orders posts against Flávio removed - Oct 11 — Bem Paraná: inspector general overturns Kassio's decision - Oct 11 — A Crítica: Janones cries censorship - Oct 12 — O Povo: "The censorship has fallen" - Oct 13 — DGABC: campaign registers the channel with the Electoral Court - Oct 14 — Portal de Prefeitura: channel back online - October — Correio da Manhã: Flávio steps up offensive against Janones - October — SBT News: Electoral Court review finds no new fake news - Oct 25 — O Liberal: Janones speaks of an "attempted coup" - Oct 27 — Al Jazeera: The WhatsApp "general" behind Lula's comeback - Oct 27 — AFP, via Buenos Aires Times: Lula's social media "general" - Nov 2 — CNN: Brazil's left reinvented the right's online playbook - Janones may be expelled from the Minas Gerais OAB after three ethics violations, Itatiaia, Mar 27, 2026 - Janones replies to possible OAB expulsion with a vulgarity, Itatiaia, March 2026 - Federal District court denies Janones's request to remove post; Minas Gerais electoral court orders removal, Itatiaia, June 2026 - Judge denies Janones's request to remove post about OAB expulsion, Metrópoles, Jun 18, 2026 - Mayor speaks out about Janones's aggressions, Itatiaia, Mar 12, 2026 - Flávio's allies approach Janones's ex for Globo debate, DGABC, Oct 23, 2026 - Janones's ex after attending debate: "It's not about revenge, it never was", Poder360, Oct 24, 2026