Dave Litrell stood at a socially un-distant length from his fellow protesters on Saturday.

Some shook hands. Others hugged. More than a hundred people rubbed elbows and shoulders, their signs and flags touching, their faces unmasked. Mr Litrell held his 6-year-old daughter as those surrounding him chanted to reopen the US economy outside the state Capitol building in Austin, Texas.

“I don’t fear a potential pathogen,” he said of the fast-spreading coronavirus that has compelled most governors to shut down their states, including the closing of nonessential businesses. “I think there’s potential pathogens around us all the time, and for the most part, we’re healthy.”

Polls show that most Americans support restrictions meant to combat the virus. But the modest crowd at the You Can’t Close America rally was proudly defiant of the local and state stay-at-home orders they were violating simply by assembling. Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order states that all Texans shall “minimise social gatherings”, and city and county officials in Austin have required people to wear face coverings in public.

The rally rode a wave of similar protests at Capitol buildings and in city streets this past week, with people also gathering on Saturday in Indianapolis; Carson City, Nevada; Annapolis, Maryland; and Brookfield, Wisconsin. As some governors expressed interest in reopening their states, some prominent local conservatives turned to Facebook groups and other social media to set up protests. Eric Moutsos, a former Salt Lake City police officer, organised a protest in his city for Saturday evening.

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“Thank you government officials for your recommendations, but we’re going back to work,” Mr Moutsos said.

The protest in Austin, whose Capitol steps are a frequent background for demonstrations, was small compared to past rallies there, with dozens of people assembling on a chilly and overcast day. At times, it was a cacophony of conservative anger and frustration.

A group of children held up their homemade sign reading: “Open our school: Education is a God-given right,” while others waved placards reading: “Shut down the shutdown.”

Nicole Adkins, a stay-at-home mother and Army veteran who lives near San Antonio, held a sign that said: “Flatten the Fear.” It was the first protest Ms Adkins had ever attended.

Ms Adkins and others were convinced that the government and the news media were lying to the public about the dangers of the virus, or at least exaggerating the risks.

Standing together in a crowd, mask-free and well within the 6-foot social-distancing zone, was a physical manifestation of their anger and suspicion. They denied they were being reckless, and viewed the shutting down of society as a kind of hysteria, regardless of the numbers of infections and fatalities being reported.