Harvard Prof to Leave U.S. After Immigration Arrest

"The Department of State revoked Gouvea's visa Oct. 16, and a month later, Gouvea 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," the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a news release. Gouvea shot the pellet gun outside Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Mass., just a few miles south of the Harvard campus, The New York Times reported."

"Private security guards for the synagogue heard a loud noise outside, and the temple was put in a lockdown. When a guard saw Gouvea behind a tree and attempted to arrest him, they engaged in a brief physical struggle and then Gouvea fled, the Times reported. He was later arrested by Brookline police. Gouvea fired two total shots, one of which police later discovered had shattered a car window."

"In its news release, the Department of Homeland Security called the act an "anti-Semitic shooting incident," a characterization federal officials have maintained since the incident. "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 anti-Semitism like this. They are an affront to our core principals as a country and an unacceptable threat against law-abiding American citizens," Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, said in a statement."

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, was arrested after his J-1 visa was revoked for shooting a BB gun outside Temple Beth Zion in Brookline on Oct. 2, Yom Kippur. The Department of State revoked the visa Oct. 16. A month later Gouvea accepted a plea deal on the charge of illegal use of an air rifle while other charges were dismissed. Security guards heard a loud noise, the temple went into lockdown, and a brief physical struggle occurred before Gouvea fled and was later arrested by Brookline police. Gouvea fired two shots, one shattering a car window, and agreed to voluntarily leave the United States rather than face deportation.

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