Protesters converged in Austin, Texas on Saturday for the “You Can’t Close America” rally. State police looked on as citizens held signs that said things like “Open Texas Now” and “End Medical Tyranny Now,” some referencing martial law. There were also repeated chants of “Fire Fauci,” referring to the infectious disease doctor on the White House coronavirus task force.

Owen Shroyer, a positively awful commentator for far-right media source Infowars hosted the rally. He claimed he organized the demonstration “in an effort to protect our God given and Constitutional rights,” according to the Facebook event page.

“This weekend, Texans of all stripes will assemble outside the capitol building in Austin, Texas, to protest the authoritarian lockdown orders being imposed by petty tyrants at the local level,” the rally posting reads on conspiracy site, InfoWars. Among that website’s claims are that the U.S. government was behind the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Attendees at Saturday’s event did not appear to adhere to social distancing guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for remaining at least 6 feet apart to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, according to this video from the rally posted by a New York Times staffer, in which many event-goers pumped their fists in the air and chanted “Fire Fauci!”

Chant of “Fire Fauci!” pic.twitter.com/Vj4aQhtQs7

— Manny Fernandez (@mannyNYT) April 18, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the figureheads of the federal government’s coronavirus response, has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, serving under six presidents. He and Donald Trump have occasionally butted heads over the federal response to the public health crisis, culminating in the president retweeting a call to “#FireFauci” last Sunday.

Despite his Twitter activity, Trump said at a press conference Monday he has no plans to fire Fauci, calling him a “wonderful guy.”

This week after the president told governors they would “call the shots” in determining when to lift social distancing guidelines in their states, he again took to Twitter, giving groups like the Texans at Shroyer’s rally a shot in the arm.

“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” Trump tweeted Friday, followed quickly by a call to “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!”

“LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” Trump also tweeted, a reference to the state’s expanded background checks and limits on gun purchases signed into law last week.

How do you even argue with someone like this:

Jax Weaver and her 7-year-old daughter at the Austin rally: “I’m not worried about catching the virus. If we did catch the virus, I feel that we’re healthy enough to fight it.” pic.twitter.com/1t0Jav9U8S

— Manny Fernandez (@mannyNYT) April 18, 2020

These people aren’t even social distancing and most aren’t wearing masks:

Rally’s underway on sidewalk outside State Capitol in Austin pic.twitter.com/13EZor2ZCD

— Manny Fernandez (@mannyNYT) April 18, 2020