Man accused of ramming FBI Atlanta gate is decorated Navy veteran, records show

A man accused of ramming the front gate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s offices in Atlanta Monday is a decorated Navy veteran, according to records obtained by Channel 2 Action News.

Ervin Lee Bolling is accused of ramming the FBI’s gate around 12 p.m. Monday.

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Officials told Channel 2′s Tom Regan that the driver tried to follow an FBI employee’s car as it entered the fence and gated parking lot. But he didn’t make it. The gate closed and an iron tank block came out of the ground smashing the front end of the vehicle.

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“He was not associated with this facility. Several of our special agents passing by apprehended him,” Assistant Atlanta FBI Special Agent in Charge Peter Ellis said.

According to Navy records, Bolling served on several submarines across the U.S. including the USS Alaska, the USS Albany and the USS Columbia. He was an enlisted submarine warfare specialist, records show.

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He retired in 2017 after being awarded medals for good conduct, merit, achievement and service. He also won a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Former FBI Agent and ABC News contributor Brad Garrett says investigators are working to determine a possible motive, and whether what happened was an isolated incident.

“It’s a really serious thing to take on an FBI field office in this way. Because you are talking about hundreds of people armed, SWAT teams heavily armed. This could have turned into something really, really major if this particular suspect had other intentions. He could have had explosives in the car. He could have automatic weapons. You just don’t know,” Garrett said.

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