Who is Marcos do Val, senator who accused Bolsonaro of trying to coerce him into a coup?

Senator Marcos do Val (Podemos-ES) said this Thursday (2) that former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) tried to coerce him into a coup d’état. The statement was made during the night in a live on social networks. Hours later, he announced that he will leave political life and resign from office. The parliamentarian was elected in 2018 and has four more years in office.

Marcos do Val was born in Vitória (ES), is 51 years old, and is a former Army soldier, where he served in the 38th Infantry Battalion. He became known as an instructor of public and private security agents. According to his official website, the parliamentarian is a master in Aikido (2nd dan), graduated and accredited by the International Aikido Federation of Japan.

With those credentials, he founded the Center for Advanced Immobilization Techniques (Cati) and provided training to SWAT, NASA, FBI, Navy Seals and Vatican agents. According to his official website, the senator trained more than 120 police and security corporations in countries such as the United States, China, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, and others.

According to the parliamentarian, he was invited to join political life in early 2018 to “contribute to the implementation of his knowledge in improving public policies” focused mainly on security.

Statement on coup and resignation

Marcos do Val was called a “traitor” on social networks after the defeat of Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) in the race for the presidency of the Senate. This morning, he announced that he intends to leave “definitely out of politics”.

In a publication on his official Instagram account, he stated that in the coming days he should ask for removal from the Senate and return to the United States. In addition, he claimed that Bolsonaro would have put pressure on him to participate in a coup.

“You expect me to drop a bomb. On Friday, Veja will show Bolsonaro’s attempt to coerce me so that I could carry out a coup d’état with him, just so you can have an idea. And of course I denounced it”, said the congressman.