 Freixo gained national attention when he presided over a parliamentary inquiry commission on police militias in Rio de Janeiro, having a character inspired on him in the Brazilian film "", directed by José Padilha.He ran for mayor of Rio de Janeiro twice, in 2012 and 2016, having as vice-mayor candidate on the ticket in 2016 the lawyer and professor at UFRJ Luciana Boiteux.He ended in second in both the run-offs, losing the first to Eduardo Paes from PMDB, and the second to the PRB candidate Marcelo Crivella.