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A visiting professor at Harvard Law brazil A man whose visa was revoked after he was accused of firing a BB gun near a synagogue during Yom Kippur has left the United States, the Department of Homeland Security announced and his attorney confirmed Thursday.
after Immigration and Customs Enforcement Carlos Portugal Gouveia was arrested Wednesday, after authorities said he agreed to voluntarily leave the United States rather than be deported. He arrived in Brazil on Thursday, according to a statement from his lawyer Joseph D. Eisenstaedt.
Homeland Security officials described the October shooting as anti-Semitic, but Temple Beth Zion Brookline said in a social media post days after the incident that it did not appear to be motivated by anti-Semitism. Police Initially the synagogue was told that “the man was unaware that he lived next door, and was shooting next door to the synagogue with his BB gun or that it was a religious holiday. We were told he said he was shooting rats.”
In a statement, Assistant Secretary of State Tricia McLaughlin called working and studying in the United States a privilege, “not a right.”
He said, “There is no place for such brazen, violent acts of anti-Semitism in the United States of America. They are an affront to our core principles as a country and an unacceptable threat against law-abiding American citizens.”
According to the Brookline police report on Gouveia’s October arrest, law enforcement were called to Temple Beth Zion for a report of a “person with a gun” just after 9 p.m. on October 1 during Yom Kippur, which is considered the holiest day of the month. jews Who spend it in atoning for sins and asking for forgiveness.
According to the report, private security personnel assigned to guard the temple during holiday services said they heard “at least two loud gunshots” and saw Gouve behind a tree holding a rifle.
An officer began to approach Gouveia and the professor placed the rifle against a tree, before Mr. Gouveia moved toward the rifle and the two began a brief physical struggle before falling to the ground, “the arrest report reads.”
Gouveia initially pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor and one felony charges: unlawful discharge of a BB gun, vandalism, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
David Linton, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, said all charges against Gouwe but the misdemeanor illegal BB gun discharge charge were dismissed last month.
As part of a plea agreement, Gouveia was placed on pre-trial probation for six months on one charge and ordered to pay $386.59 in restitution to the man whose car window he broke with the bullet. He did not change his plea of not guilty.
After six months, if he breaks no laws, that final count will be administratively dismissed. Gouveia will not need to go before a judge.
DHS Gouveia’s J-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa for people participating in exchange visitor programs, was revoked by the State Department on October 16 following “an anti-Semitic shooting incident in October.”
Harvard Law School’s website lists Gouveia as a visiting professor of law for the fall 2025 semester. He was teaching two courses: Corruption and Inequality Seminar: Exposing the Vicious Cycle and Sustainable Capitalism. The site says Gouveia is an associate professor at the Law School of the University of São Paulo and CEO of the Global Law Institute, a think tank on environmental and social justice in Brazil.
Harvard had no comment on Gouveia’s case.
In a statement following Gouveia’s arrest in October, Celso Fernandes Campilongo, director of the University of São Paulo’s law school, rejected “malicious and distorted accusations” against Gouveia, noting his similarities, including his history of human rights advocacy and family ties to the Jewish community.
__ Broomfield reported from Cockeysville, MD.