Harvard Professor, arrested for firing pellet gun near synagogue, was a visiting scholar at Wharton
Photo Credit: Veja (Grupo Abril)
By: Abraham Franchetti
On the eve of Yom Kippur, Harvard Law Professor Carlos Portugal Gouvea was arrested near a Massachusetts synagogue. He is accused of firing a pellet gun adjacent to the synagogue, which caused it to enter lockdown given the current rise in antisemitic violence. When approached by temple security he was reportedly involved in “a brief physical struggle” and fled. He was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, illegally discharging a pellet gun, and damage to personal property. Goueva has pleaded “not guilty” to all charges, alleging he was “hunting rats.”
According to his biography, Gouvea’s work focuses on legal and corporate governance issues in Brazil. This included indigenous and environmental advocacy through non-profits, support for DEI, and advocacy for wealth redistribution in Brazil. In 2018, before joining Harvard he was a visiting Scholar at Wharton and Research Scholar at Yale. His CV describes his Wharton affiliation from January to February of 2018, overlapping with his time at Yale. Wharton’s Legal Studies Non-Faculty Opportunities and Management Departments Visiting Scholars/Senior Fellows/Lecturers – Management Department each describe their visiting scholar programs as around a year in length. Goueva has been placed on leave by Harvard and awaits a hearing in November.
