The FBI says a driver rammed a vehicle into the front gate of its Atlanta headquarters in Chamblee, Ga., on Monday, April 1, 2024. Ervin Lee Bolling, 48, of Easley, S.C., faces one federal count of destruction of government property, court documents show. (Screen capture from video)
(Tribune News Service) — A federal magistrate complaint accusing a man of breaching the gate of the FBI’s Atlanta headquarters Monday reveals new details about his arrest.
Ervin Lee Bolling, 48, of Easley, S.C., faces one federal count of destruction of government property, court documents show. He is also charged with violating state law in DeKalb County and faces one count of interference with government property, local officials said.
Bolling is accused of damaging “the final denial barrier” just inside the gate of the FBI’s facility on Flowers Road in Chamblee by ramming it in an orange Buick Encore, the federal affidavit said.
Though he is only charged with a single count, the affidavit details how Bolling allegedly got out of the wrecked car and walked past the gate, then refused to comply with the special agents detaining him. After taking Bolling into custody, agents searched him and found that he was carrying his passport.
The affidavit does not provide much detail about Bolling’s behavior and does not include any statements he made or dialogue between him and the agents. There is no mention of weapons in Bolling’s car or on his person.
The details in the affidavit show some aspects of the FBI office’s secure perimeter and how Bolling allegedly breached the gate before being stopped by agents. The office building, which is owned by Mercer University and leased by the federal government, is surrounded by a metal fence with a retractable gate. Inside the gate is a lifting arm and a wedge barrier, also known as the final denial barrier, that drops into the ground. The wedge barrier rises back into place after each authorized car passes through.
Just before 12:30 p.m. Monday, Bolling rammed the Buick into the wedge barrier in an attempt to follow a special agent’s car through the gate, the affidavit said. After crashing, Bolling got out of his car and tried to follow the agent into the secure parking lot. He was confronted by the agent he was following, along with two other agents leaving the facility.
They ordered Bolling to sit on the curb, according to the affidavit, but he refused. Bolling continued walking, so the agents began to take him into custody. He resisted being detained, but agents eventually apprehended and searched him.
Soon after, DeKalb police and emergency medical services arrived. Bolling was taken to the hospital for medical care and evaluation, though the affidavit does not provide details of any physical injuries.
The impact with the wedge barrier caused damage that exceeded $1,000, the affidavit said. That threshold increases the suspect’s maximum possible sentence from one to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. legal code.
FBI officials have not shared any insight into Bolling’s suspected motive. According to DeKalb police, he remained in the hospital Tuesday. Online jail records indicated Wednesday morning that he still had not been booked.
Bolling is a U.S. Navy veteran who served for more than 20 years. He has no disciplinary history in the military or serious legal troubles as a civilian. According to publicly available information, he is an insurance broker in the Greenville area, a homeowner and a married man with three daughters.
Bolling does have a brother with a serious criminal history. Michael Spencer Bolling, 43, pleaded guilty to robbing a pharmacy in North Carolina at gunpoint more than 10 years ago. He remains in state prison in North Carolina and is not expected to be released until August 2026.
Court records also show that Bolling has been involved in a large class-action lawsuit settlement with 3M Companies, which agreed to pay more than $6 billion to veterans who claimed to suffer from hearing issues attributed to defective combat earplugs. The settlement was announced in August, but the administration of payments to the plaintiffs has been convoluted and beset with scammers.
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