The Richmond protesters, who were mostly white and male, came out in strong numbers Monday despite the chilly temperature to send a message to legislators, they said.

«The government doesn’t run us, we run the government,» said Kem Regik, a 20-year-old private security officer from northern Virginia who brought a white flag with a picture of a rifle captioned, «Come and take it.»

Northam was a particular focus of the protesters’ wrath. One poster showed his face superimposed on Adolf Hitler’s body.

Many of the protesters wore camouflage. Some waved flags with messages of support for President Donald Trump.

Trump weighed in on Monday, saying on Twitter: «The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights.»

Monday’s rally is being organized by an influential grassroots gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The group holds a yearly Lobby Day rally at the capitol on Martin Luther King Day, typically a low-key event with a few hundred gun enthusiasts listening to speeches from a handful of ambitious Republican lawmakers.

But this year, many more are expected to attend. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights.

State of emergency declared

Virginia’s solicitor general told a judge last week that law enforcement had identified «credible evidence» armed out-of-state groups planned to come to the state with the possible intention of participating in a «violent insurrection.»

Toby Heytens also suggested during his arguments in a lawsuit by gun advocates that challenged the weapons ban that the crowd could number in the tens of thousands. The Supreme Court upheld the weapons ban.

Authorities were looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in 2017 in Charlottesville during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counter-protesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more.

Law enforcement officials faced scathing criticism for what both the white supremacist groups and anti-racism protesters said was a passive response.

As the crowd on the street grew, advocates also filled the hallways of the building that houses lawmakers’ offices. One couple, Jared and Marie March, travelled from Floyd County, over three hours west of Richmond, to meet with lawmakers.

«Guns are a way of life where we live,» said Marie March, who was concerned about a proposed red-flag law which she said would allow citizens to be stripped of their guns due to «subjective criteria.» A proposal to establish universal background checks amounted to «more Big Brother,» she said. «We just feel like we need to push government back into their rightful spot.»

The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police had a strong presence, with officers deploying on rooftops, others patrolling in cars and on bicycles. In contrast to Charlottesville, there was little sign of any counter-protesters challenging the gun-rights activists.

Police limited access to Capitol Square to only one entrance and have warned rally-goers they may have to wait hours to get past security screening.

A light crowd milled near the security gate outside the capitol early Monday before authorities started letting people in at the sole public entrance just before 7:30 a.m. Some waited to get inside the square, while others — including some with military-style rifles — had no plans to go in.

Virginia Beach carpenter Andy Kincaid, 59, got up at 2 a.m. to come to Richmond, but said he thinks the number of attendees was probably overstated, as the cold weather and rumours of anti-fascist infiltrators may have kept some away.

The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November. Much of the opposition has focused on a proposed assault weapons ban.

Virginia Democrats are also backing bills limiting handgun purchases to once a month, implementing universal background checks on gun purchases, allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas, and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.