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Harvard Visiting Law Professor Leaves U.S. After ICE Detention in BB-Gun Case Near Synagogue

A State Department visa revocation after the October arrest led to ICE custody, with his lawyer saying he returned to Brazil.

Overview

  • Carlos Portugal Gouvêa, a Brazilian national teaching at Harvard Law School this fall, was detained by ICE after his J‑1 visa was revoked and agreed to depart voluntarily, his attorney said.
  • He was arrested in early October near Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, where police said a pellet struck a car window; he told officers he had been hunting rats.
  • The Brookline case was resolved with six months of pretrial probation and $386.59 in restitution on a misdemeanor air‑rifle charge, while other counts were dismissed.
  • DHS labeled the episode an antisemitic shooting, a characterization disputed by local authorities and synagogue leaders who reported no evidence of a bias motive.
  • Harvard placed Gouvêa on administrative leave after the incident, as the case unfolded during broader federal pressure on the university over handling of antisemitism.