A Brazilian professor from Harvard Law School, who admitted last month to firing an air rifle outside a synagogue in the Boston area, has agreed to leave the United States after an arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week. He had told authorities he was “on a rat hunt.”
Carlos Portugal Gouvea, 43, faced charges related to this incident, which occurred outside Temple Beth Zion in Brookline on Yom Kippur, a significant day in Judaism, on October 2. He was arraigned on November 13 and charged with unlawful use of an air rifle.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Gouvea was taken into custody by ICE in Boston and has decided to return voluntarily to Brazil in order to avoid deportation.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated, “Working and studying in the United States is a privilege, not a right. There is no place in America for such brazen and violent acts of anti-Semitism. They are an affront to our core principles as a nation and an unacceptable threat to law-abiding Americans.”
Gouvea, who was teaching as a visiting professor, held a J-1 temporary nonimmigrant visa which was revoked by the State Department within two weeks following the incident.
After allegedly firing two shots, he confronted a private security guard at the synagogue, leading to a physical altercation, after which he fled into a nearby home, as reported by Brookline.News.
When questioned by the police, Gouvea claimed he was merely trying to eliminate local pests. However, one of the shots he fired had broken a car window.
While Harvard Law placed him on administrative leave, it hasn’t announced additional disciplinary measures. As part of his plea deal, several charges—including disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and destruction of property—were dropped.
This incident followed President Trump’s assertion that Harvard University had tentatively agreed with his administration to address issues of discrimination against Jewish students, post the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and to restore $2.4 billion in federal funds that had been frozen.
