Crime05 December, 20252 min read
ICE Arrests Harvard Visiting Professor Carlos Portugal Gouvea for Firing Pellet Gun Near Synagogue
Carlos Portugal Gouvêa fired a pellet gun near a Brookline synagogue on Yom Kippur’s eve ICE arrested him, his visa was revoked, and he agreed to leave the United States
20 outlets told this the same way.
Harvard Professor Visa Case
U.S. immigration authorities arrested visiting Harvard Law School professor Carlos Portugal Gouvêa after the State Department revoked his temporary visa. Officials say he agreed to leave the United States voluntarily and returned to Brazil.
“A Harvard visiting law professor from Brazil, Carlos Portugal Gouvêa, left the United States after his visa was revoked following an incident in which he fired a pellet gun near a synagogue during Yom Kippur. Gouvêa told police he was shooting at rats. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him Wednesday, and officials said he agreed to depart voluntarily rather than face deportation; his attorney confirmed he arrived in Brazil on Thursday.”
Multiple outlets report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody in early December and that his attorney confirmed he arrived in Brazil on Thursday. Accounts say the incident began with Gouvêa firing a pellet or BB gun near Temple Beth Zion on the eve of Yom Kippur, and he told police he was 'hunting rats' or 'shooting at rats'.
Plea deal summary
Reports vary on court and criminal-case details but converge that a plea deal resolved multiple charges. Outlets report local prosecutors dropped several counts under the plea agreement and that Gouvêa admitted to illegally discharging a pellet/BB gun.
He received six months of pretrial probation and paid modest restitution after a pellet broke a car window. Multiple local and regional papers listed the original police charges as illegal discharge, disorderly conduct, vandalism and disturbing the peace, and noted some counts were dismissed as part of the resolution.
Dispute over shooting motive
There is a clear dispute across sources about motive and characterization. The Department of Homeland Security and some federal spokespeople characterized the episode as an "anti‑Semitic shooting incident." Brookline police, synagogue leaders and local reporting said there was no clear evidence of an antisemitic motive.
“The Trump administration characterized the episode as an ‘anti‑Semitic shooting incident,’ language local authorities and others have disputed.”
They reported Gouvêa told officers he was unaware he lived next to a synagogue or that it was a religious holiday. That divergence is reported consistently as a factual disagreement rather than a resolved fact.
Official reactions and framing
Federal officials and some media outlets issued strongly worded condemnations, with DHS and its spokespeople framing the case as unacceptable conduct by a foreign national and some sources quoting officials using forceful language.
Other outlets amplified DHS's language and added framing about immigration policy and the Trump administration's stance that foreigners who commit such acts need not remain in the U.S.
Media coverage and context
Several outlets placed the episode in a broader context of tensions between the Trump administration and Harvard over allegations of antisemitism and policy disputes. Other outlets kept coverage narrowly focused on the incident, the plea, and the immigration consequences.
“The case comes amid broader tensions between the Trump administration and Harvard over alleged campus antisemitism and an administration decision to cut more than $2 billion in university research funding, which Harvard successfully challenged in court.”
Local reporting included statements from synagogue leaders and police disputing a hate motive. Some national outlets tied the arrest to the administration's wider public rhetoric and funding actions toward Harvard.
