Protesters cheered as the bus drove past the Cracker Barrel without stopping.

TIFTON, Ga. — State Senator Michael Williams, one of seven Republicans running for Georgia Governor, was greeted in Tifton Monday by approximately 50 protesters as he came through on his “Deportation Bus Tour.”

The tour, which began on May 16, takes a former prison bus that has been painted and adorned with pro-Trump, anti-immigrant slogans through a tour of Georgia’s “sanctuary cities (to) expose how dangerous illegal aliens ruin local economies, cost American jobs, increase healthcare costs and lower education standards,” according to a press release from the campaign.

The protesters, most of whom were holding signs, gathered across the street from Cracker Barrel, located on Highway 319, which was Williams’ expected stop.

Protest organizer Jess Usher said that the protesters gathered across the street to be respectful of Cracker Barrel’s wish to not have any political campaigning on their property.

The bus was expected to try to stop at Cracker Barrel at 1:30 p.m. However, a spokesman from the restaurant made it clear that, while anyone who wanted to come to the restaurant to eat was welcome to do so, the deportation bus would not be allowed on the property.

There were security guards as well as officers from the Tifton Police Department on hand to not only prevent the bus from entering, but to disallow any political activity on the premises.

“In the spirit of fair play, we are not going to push that issue,” Usher said. “We’re being respectful of Captain (Steve) Hyman and the local police force, who have been very professional and very polite. We are gathering on public property, on a public sidewalk in a safe place that will still be visible to the candidate and his bus when they arrive. The folks at Cracker Barrel have been very fair about that.”

The bus, following the RV that was actually carrying Williams, drove by Cracker Barrel without stopping at approximately 2:15 p.m. while the protesters held signs and chanted slogans.

Usher said that while there were a couple of protesters from Douglas and Valdosta, Williams’ previous and next stops, most of the protesters were local.

“We have a mix of everything from toddlers to seniors,” he said. “It’s a very diverse crowd. White, black, Hispanic, old, young, men, women.”

Paola Cortes, holding a sign that read “No hate, eat a taco,” said she was at the protest to represent the Mexicans and immigrants of every race.

“This is about trying to support people who don’t have a voice or a say for what’s going on,” she said. “I just don’t believe in hate, here in Tifton or anywhere. America shouldn’t be about hate. It should be about love and everyone.”

Armando Ramirez said he was at the protest to support the immigrant community.

“It’s been hard for us after the election,” he said. “Since Donald Trump came in he’s been stereotyping us and we want to come out here and say that we’re not any of the stereotypes he puts us out to be. We same here to say we aren’t going to allow that, not in our state, not in Tifton, not in our county, not in our homes or neighborhoods.”

After the bus drove past on its way to the next stop, Usher thanked the people who came out to protest.

“As I think everyone knows from the news the bus is loaded with hate speech and racist terminology,” Usher said. “The citizens of Tifton just want the candidate and the rest of Georgia to know that immigrants are welcome in our city. They’re our brothers and sisters and we will not stand for this type of hate speech in our community.”

Calls to the Williams campaign for comment were not immediately returned.

Follow Eve Copeland on Twitter @EveCopelandTTG.