trialWritten by Jada Dukes, Staff Writer

Months after his indictment, Eric Sheppard’s court date has now been set for the week of May 2.

The former VSU student was arrested on a firearm charge last year after a gun was found on campus days after his infamous flag demonstration. VSU police and the Valdosta police department say that they linked the weapon to Sheppard through pawn shop receipts.

Sheppard made quite the commotion on campus after he and two other students held a protest on VSU’s main campus during which Sheppard proceeded to walk on the American flag as a sign of resistance towards white supremacy and racism. This angered many Valdosta residents so much so that a resident even tried to take the flag away from Sheppard and also resulted in a student led flag rally in support of American nationalism.

Since his arrest, Sheppard has been allowed bond at $25,000 on the strict requirements that he is not allowed post on social media, must stay within Cobb County limits, and must be in his house from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Although Sheppard is banned from returning to VSU’s campus his presence is still felt throughout the community. Recently, an on-campus organization hosted an event in which Sheppard was present via FaceTime and discussed racial issues with current VSU students.