Harvard professor to self-deport after allegedly firing BB gun near synagogue
A Brazilian Harvard law professor, Carlos Portugal Gouvea, agreed to self-deport after being arrested for allegedly firing a BB gun near a synagogue in Brookline, Mass. DHS labeled the act as antisemitism, but local police did not. Gouvea claimed he was hunting rats. His J-1 visa was revoked, and he accepted a plea deal for illegal air rifle use. He was arrested by ICE and will return to Brazil.
A Brazilian Harvard law professor has agreed to self-deport after he was arrested on allegations he fired a BB gun near a synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Carlos Portugal Gouvea fired shots on Oct. 2 outside Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Mass., in an act of “brazen antisemitism.”
Gouvea contends he was “hunting rats” in the area. Local police and the synagogue have not attributed the incident to antisemitism, diverging from the DHS narrative, according to Reuters.
Police reportedly told the temple that Gouvea was “unaware that he lived next to, and was shooting his BB gun next to, a synagogue or that it was a religious holiday.”
Brookline’s city website has a landing page for “rodent resources,” where it acknowledges the city has experienced an “influx in rat activity.” Law enforcement arrested Gouvea the same day the shots were fired, and DHS revoked his J-1 educational visa on Oct. 16.
In November, Gouvea accepted a plea deal, admitting to illegally using the air rifle in exchange for other charges — including disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct — to be dropped.
He was arrested on Wednesday by ICE Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations and decided to return to his native Brazil.
