Brookline
Police
Department
Carlos
Portugal
Gouvêa,
a
visiting
professor
at
Harvard
Law
School,
was arrested
earlier
this
year
following
a shooting
incident in
front
of
Temple
Beth
Zion
on
Yom
Kippur.
He
discharged
a
pellet
gun
and
ultimately
received
probation
for
the
matter.
But
that
was
far
from
the
end
of
it.
Gouvêa,
a
Brazilian
national,
found
himself
a
target
of
immigration
officials.
The
Department
of
Homeland
Security
(DHS)
publicly
declared
the
incident
an
“anti-Semitic
shooting,”
withdrew
his
visa,
and
Gouvêa
was
arrested
by
ICE.
After
which
Gouvêa
voluntarily
left
the
country.
Here’s
the
kicker:
the
very
synagogue
in
front
of
which
the
pellet-gun
incident
occurred
says
they
don’t
believe
it
was
motivated
by
antisemitism.
The
leadership
of
Temple
Beth
Zion
told
their
community
that
police
told
them
Gouvêa
claimed
he
didn’t
know
he
was
near
a
synagogue
and
was
“hunting
rats,”
and
they
“have
no
reason
to
believe
this
was
an
anti-Semitic
event.”
Brookline
police
reportedly
echoed
that.
No
bias
finding,
no
hate-crime
classification,
just
a
plea
deal
for
an
illegally
fired
pellet
gun.
But
DHS
and
ICE
think
they
know
antisemitism
better
than
the
actual
Jewish
Temple.
“It
is
a
privilege
to
work
and
study
in
the
United
States,
not
a
right,”
Tricia
McLaughlin,
assistant
secretary
for
Public
Affairs
at
DHS,
said.
“There
is
no
room
in
the
United
States
for
brazen,
violent
acts
of
anti-Semitism
like
this.”
“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,”
McLaughlin
continued.
I
mean…
not
to
be
too
cutesy,
but
gun
violence
is
the
most
American
of
violence.
But
no
one
on
the
ground
seems
to
seriously
think
this
was
terrorism,
and
yet
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security
is
out
there
rewriting
narratives
to
keep
the
streets
safe
from…
pellet
guns?
The
Trump
administration
is
out
here
federalizing
hyper-local,
low-level
incidents
to
consolidate
narrative
control
around
immigration.
A
pellet
gun
discharge
that
local
police
treated
as
a
misdemeanor-level
disturbance
is
suddenly
an
“anti-Semitic
shooting,”
complete
with
visa
revocation,
ICE
arrest,
and
a
national-security
frame
all
in
the
service
of
a
political
agenda.
Let’s
be
real,
this
has
nothing
to
do
with
gun
violence
or
antisemitism
and
everything
to
do
with
the
MAGA
immigration
priorities.
The
pellet
gun
is
only
an
excuse.
Earlier:
Harvard
Law
School
Professor
Arrested
Following
Shooting
Incident
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
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Thinking
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A
Lawyer.
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