A Harvard Law School professor was arrested by ICE after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he fired a BB gun outside of a synagogue the day before Yom Kippur.
On Oct. 2, Carlos Portugal Gouvêa, a citizen of Brazil, was arrested in connection with the shooting. DHS said Gouvea claimed he was “hunting rats.”
Gouvêa’s lawyer told the Boston Globe he “categorically denies that his actions were motivated by antisemitism or by any intent to cause fear or disruption to the Temple Beth Zion community” in Brookline.
What occurred “was a total misunderstanding of an entirely innocent situation,” he added.
Gouvêa told police he was using a pellet rifle to hunt rats in the area.
Temple leaders previously told the Globe they considered Gouvea’s actions “potentially dangerous” but added that they didn’t appear to be “fueled by antisemitism.”
Harvard did not immediately respond to MassLive’s request for comment Friday.
On Oct. 16, the Department of State revoked Gouvea’s visa. A month later, Gouvêa accepted a plea deal on the charge of illegal use of the air rifle while his other charges for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and vandalizing property were dismissed.
On Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Gouvêa, and he agreed to leave the United States voluntarily rather than face deportation.
“It is a privilege to work and study in the United States, not a right. There is no room in the United States for brazen, violent acts of antisemitism like this,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Secretary Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and commit anti-American and antisemitic violence and terrorism should think again. You are not welcome here.”
The visiting professor’s bio on Harvard’s website states he founded the first law firm in Brazil focused on corporate governance matters, PGLaw, “leading the implementation of the first human rights and business programs in Brazilian public companies and other large-scale consumer, anticorruption and diversity compliance projects.”
He was teaching two classes this fall and his areas of interest are civil rights, human rights and race and the law.
