The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that ICE arrested a Harvard Law School professor accused of firing a pellet gun near a synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts. According to Fox News, Carlos Portugal Gouvêa, a Brazilian national, was arrested on October 2nd for the alleged incident. Gouvêa, who lived near the synagogue, told authorities he was hunting rats nearby. He was ultimately placed on administrative leave, and the State Department revoked his J-1 visa. The professor agreed to leave the United States, rather than be deported. ‘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 Fox News has more: Gouvea was put on six months of pretrial probation for a misdemeanor charge of illegal use of the air rifle, while his other charges of disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and vandalizing property were dismissed. The Harvard Crimson first reported Gouvêa was suspended by the university pending the investigation, with synagogue leaders noting in an email the shooting was not “fueled by antisemitism.” Two weeks after the shooting, the Department of State revoked his temporary non-immigrant (J-1) visa. “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,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “We are under zero obligation to admit foreigners who commit these inexplicably reprehensible acts or to let them stay here. Secretary Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and commit anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism should think again. You are not welcome here,” she continued. Harvard Law prof who fired pellet gun near synagogue, said he was ‘hunting rats’ agrees to leave US: DHS https://t.co/2nFc9o0EqJ pic.twitter.com/7pMiKy8jTF — New York Post (@nypost) December 5, 2025 The New York Times explained further: The arrest comes as the Trump administration has targeted American universities and threatened to withhold funding from college campuses it says have not done enough to combat antisemitism. The incident that led to Mr. Gouvea’s arrest occurred in early October during a Yom Kippur service at the Temple Beth Zion, a synagogue a few miles south of Harvard in Brookline, Mass. When private security guards at the synagogue heard a loud noise outside, the building went into lockdown. A guard then spotted Mr. Gouvea behind a tree with a pellet gun. When a guard attempted to arrest him, Mr. Gouvea engaged in a brief physical struggle and fled, according to a police report. Mr. Gouvea was later arrested without incident by Brookline police at his residence and charged with illegally discharging a pellet gun, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and damage to personal property. Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump official who heads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, responded to the episode on social media. “Do NOT mess with houses of worship or people of faith in our country,” she wrote shortly after the incident, adding that she was “on it.”