A colleague just related this story and I was skeptical (his telling was he was specifically prosecuted for breaking the law of gravity).
The wiki page on Bartolomeu de Gusmão implies that such a story exists (specifically that he was banned from continuing his work by the Portugese Inquistion) but may be a later invention. I can’t seem to find any other references it, or any details of the alleged persecution.
Can the teeming masses help?