AUSTIN — Hundreds of protesters marched on the Texas Capitol calling for an end to Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home orders, likening them to “tyranny” and demanding the reopening of business in the state.

The protest came a day after Abbott announced a plan for slowly reopening the state’s economy, which will include opening retail stores for “to go” services, easing regulations on elective surgeries and medical procedures, and reopening state parks.

Protesters who carried signs that read “Vaccines can cause cancer and death," “Every job is essential” and “Open Now!" questioned the threat of the virus.

The protest was organized by InfoWars, an Austin-based website that promotes conspiracy theories, and has a massive online following.

Alex Jones, the InfoWars host who falsely called the mass shooting at an elementary school in Sandy Hook, Conn., a “hoax,” compared Abbott’s orders to tyranny.

“Don’t let them tell you like the Nazis did that you are not essential,” he said. “You are essential. America is essential. And this is 21st century war attempting to shut us down and Texas is leading the way against these tyrants.”

Alex Jones, surrounded by fans, compared stay at home orders to what Nazis did. Said this is “21st century war” and those who ordered them “tyrants” pic.twitter.com/HwI6nHu7DV — James Barragán (@James_Barragan) April 18, 2020

Many in the crowd said they had been out of work and without a paycheck for a month. They had been unable to get on the phone with the Texas Workforce Commission to file for unemployment and small business owners had been unable to apply for the federally funded Paycheck Protection Program, which stopped accepting applications Thursday after nearly exhausting its resources.

Jennifer Bailey, a 42-year-old hairdresser from Killeen, said she has nearly exhausted her savings. She is the main provider for her 73-year-old mother and her two adult daughters.

“I probably have a month left and then I’m in a serious, serious bind,” she said.

Mandy McConico said the restaurant her family owns, Rowdy’s Diner in Kemp, has let go four of its seven employees. Without allowing restaurants to fully open back up, she said, small businesses will lose everything.

“For Americans, it’s essential to feed our families,” she said. “Poverty kills. Depression kills.”

Abbott, a Republican, said Friday he is eager to reopen the economy but the process must be done with caution.

He has faced strong opposition from some in the state, including many on the far right of his party, who say the concerns about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, are overblown and his stay at home orders must be ended immediately.

Protests have also sprung up in states like Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia where Democratic governors have implemented stay-at-home policies. President Donald Trump, a Republican who has given multiple interviews to InfoWars, stoked on protesters on Friday by tweeting that protesters should “LIBERATE” Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia.

LIBERATE MICHIGAN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020

State officials have called on the public to continue social distancing measures, warning that violating such measures and opening up the economy too quickly could lead to a significant ramp up in coronavirus cases.

Some in the crowd also took aim at the political and medical experts leading the response to the virus. One group carried a banner that read “Deliver up treasonous men” and listed medical experts Dr. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx who serve on Trump’s task force, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and bilionaire George Soros.

At one point, the crowd chanted “Fire Fauci!”

Lots of protest speakers saying Trump should fire Fauci who they say “made up” the coronavirus. They call him Fascist Fauci pic.twitter.com/HzZBrPuSp7 — James Barragán (@James_Barragan) April 18, 2020

Owen Shroyer, an InfoWars host, said Texans should disobey the stay-at-home orders and that Abbott “needs to be fired.”

Shroyer, who has told his audiences that the coronavirus is part of a scheme by the Chinese Communist Party and the so-called “deep state” to undermine Trump, said hospitals in Texas were empty and news of the virus was concocted by medical experts, politicians and the press.

“They don’t want us to organize like this because it’ll defeat their narrative,” he said. “The news is fake.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety, which patrols the Capitol grounds, said it “monitored the security needs throughout the day and adjusted” its presence as needed. Troopers wore personal protective equipment to monitor the rally and were assisted by the Austin Police Department.

No arrests were made at the protest.