A Harvard Law School visiting professor who admitted to firing an air rifle outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur has agreed to leave the United States following his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The incident occurred outside Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Massachusetts, on October 2, as reported by The New York Post.
Carlos Portugal Gouvea, 43, pleaded guilty on November 13 to a charge of illegal use of an air rifle tied to the episode, during which he told police he had been “hunting rats.”
‘NOT WELCOME HERE’: DHS says ICE has detained a Harvard Law School visiting professor accused of firing a BB gun outside a Boston-area synagogue the day before Yom Kippur.
Carlos Portugal Gouvea, a Brazilian national, initially claimed he was “hunting rats” and later pleaded… pic.twitter.com/C4TpmKFKvK
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 5, 2025
The shooting happened on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and prompted immediate concern within the local community.
A DHS spokesperson said Gouvea was taken into custody on Wednesday by ICE’s Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations and subsequently agreed to return to Brazil voluntarily instead of facing deportation proceedings.
“It is a privilege to work and study in the United States, not a right,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
“There is no room in the United States for brazen, violent acts of anti-Semitism like this. They are an affront to our core principles as a country and an unacceptable threat against law-abiding American citizens.”
Gouvea was in the United States on a J-1 temporary nonimmigrant visa, which the State Department revoked two weeks after the incident. According to a police report cited by Brookline.
News, Gouvea fired two shots before being confronted by the synagogue’s private security personnel. A “brief physical struggle” followed, after which Gouvea fled into his nearby residence.
When questioned by police, he claimed he was using the pellet gun to target vermin. Authorities later determined that one of the pellets had shattered a car window.
Harvard Law School placed Gouvea on administrative leave, though the university did not disclose additional disciplinary measures.
As part of his plea agreement, charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and vandalizing property were dismissed.
The episode occurred just days after President Trump announced that Harvard had reached a tentative agreement with his administration to restore $2.4 billion in frozen federal grants.
The grants were previously withheld amid disputes involving allegations of discrimination against Jewish students following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Gouvea’s agreement to leave the country brings the criminal and immigration proceedings to a close, while the broader conversation about campus safety, anti-Semitism, and federal oversight continues to unfold.
