RJ court maintains arrest of influencer who faked theft to publish on social media

Rio’s court maintained, in a custody hearing held this Saturday, the arrest of influencer Luan Lennon, aged 23, detained in the act after confessing to having simulated a theft to produce content on social media. The decision converted the arrest into preventive detention. The influencer was arrested on Thursday for the crime of slanderous reporting.

In addition to the episode that led to the arrest, the Civil Police now want to investigate whether the influencer was involved in other similar situations. Agents will analyze old publications made by Luan on social media to identify possible forged incidents or possible crimes committed previously. The investigation seeks to clarify whether there was a repetition of the same type of staging in content published by the influencer.

According to delegate Diego Salarini Gabriel, responsible for the case, the police noticed inconsistencies while recording the incident. According to him, the elements presented indicated that the situation had been prepared in advance.

Who is the influencer?

Luan Lennon, 23 years old, was arrested red-handed for the crime of slanderous reporting. According to the police, he faked a theft to share on social media, where he says he is “fighting disorder throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro”.

According to the police, he had arranged with a flannel to offer R$30 to a pedestrian to steal a cell phone that was inside a vehicle (which purposely had the windows open). From another car, the young man filmed everything and then approached the “robber” to try to arrest him.

Carioca, Lennon ran for councilor in 2024 for the Liberal Party (PL), but was not elected. At the time, he won 4,208 votes and was a substitute. That year, he said in an interview with Globe that “on the streets, I hear a lot that I am ‘Nikolas (Ferreira) from Rio’, due to my age and connection to our agenda”. He joined the PL in 2021.

On social media, where he has more than 1 million followers, he often shares videos of attacks against street gangs on the city’s streets. Fighting what he calls the “mafia”, Lennon has already been arrested due to an irregular charge for parking on public roads. His arrest, last Thursday (7), took place in a similar context.

Two other men who were with Luan were also arrested red-handed. They may still be liable for procedural fraud. There is no bail. The custody hearing for the three is scheduled for this Saturday afternoon (9).