Holding up signs like “Get Your Hand Out of My Wallet” and “Taxed Enough Already, T.E.A.”, hundreds of people turned out at the Mississippi Capitol Wednesday as part of a National Tax Day Tea Party to protest excessive government spending.

Similar rallies were held across Mississippi in Natchez, Hattiesburg, Tupelo and Greenwood.

Some in the crowd outside the Capitol shouted “throw the bums out” as speakers talked about the country’s deficit and the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said the rally was like an inauguration because something new was about to occur and change is coming. He said what’s new is that conservatives will not go away.

The tax protests were dubbed “tea parties” after the 1773 Boston Harbor protest against British “taxation without representation.”