By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — Lower East Side street artist Shepard Fairey is headed to court in March after a trial date was set to hear accusations that the artist stole a well known image from the Barack Obama "Hope" campaign.
Fairey, whose controversial mural on Houston Street and the Bowery has been the subject of ongoing vandalism, was sued by the AP for allegedly ripping off an image that was mass reproduced in 2008 presidential campaign materials.
The California artist's mural on an East Village building was recently deemed an "illegal advertisement" by the city, which imposed an order to tear it down.
The mural was a target for graffiti almost shortly after its installation in April, DNAinfo reported.