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VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Student demonstrators who walked on an American flag to protest racism sparked a countermovement, prompting a south Georgia university to cancel classes Friday ahead of a rally that drew a large crowd to Valdosta.

Valdosta State University found itself in the center of a controversy after a video shared on social media showed an Air Force veteran, Michelle Manhart, taking an American flag from demonstrators who had walked on it to protest racism. At the protest, held a week ago, Manhart was detained by police when she refused to return the flag. She later was banned from the campus of 11,500 students. She was not a student at Valdosta State, according to the school.

The flag-walking demonstration involved three protesters, university spokesman Andy Clark said.

Meanwhile, tensions rose at Valdosta State when campus police found a backpack containing a handgun Tuesday. Police said they traced the gun to a protester who was part of the flag-walking demonstration, and they issued a warrant for Eric Sheppard's arrest on charges of bringing a firearm onto a college campus. Sheppard fled and has not been found by authorities, Clark said.

Flag supporters gathered for a rally Friday afternoon, and university administrators said the possibility of thousands of people rallying on the outskirts of campus ultimately led to the decision to give students a day off.