People marched through Austin dressed like bloodied and undead figures from the 18th and 19th centuries on Friday as part of the Libertarian Longhorns’ Founding Fathers Zombie Crawl.

About 50 people covered in white, green and silver face paint and fake blood marched from the West Mall to the State Capitol to protest government policies they believe infringe on civil liberties and the Founding Fathers’ ideals.

Libertarian Longhorns’ vice president Taylor Metting said the demonstration appeals to deeply rooted American values that cut across political parties.

“The ideas are quite universal, whether you’re a classical liberal, libertarian, conservative, Democrat,” Metting said. “They may have a different ideology, but I think they agree that civil liberty and equal rights, these really
are important.”

Metting said the protest promoted a weekend of events, including the third statewide conference of university libertarian organizations hosted by Students for Liberty on Saturday and a “campaign bootcamp” hosted by the UT chapter of Young Americans for Liberty on Sunday.

Jackson Bradford, a member for Young Americans for Liberty at Texas State University, said the protest had an impact despite its small size.

“Even though we didn’t run into hundreds of people, people saw it and people will remember it,” Bradford said. “You don’t forget about zombies walking down the street.”