REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, GRAYSON -- Up to 500 supporters gathered outside a Kentucky jail on Saturday to support a county clerk held there for defying a federal judge's order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 49, who refused the licenses due to her Christian belief that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, said she was prepared to remain in jail where she has been reading a Bible since her incarceration for contempt on Thursday, her lawyers said.

On Saturday, a white banner spray-painted with the black letters "Kim Davis POW" was placed near the entrance of the jail in Grayson, Kentucky, and a bagpipe and drum corps played "You're a Grand Old Flag" and marched to a field across from the jail.

"God is going to continue to bless Kim Davis," the mayor of Grayson George Steele told those gathered before leading the group in prayer for the program, which ran a little over an hour.

Davis's husband, Joe Davis, cracked with emotion and thanked supporters. Her pastor, Daniel Carter, said the clerk was grateful for their support.

"Sister Kim Davis is an American hero," Carter said.

Elizabeth Johnston, 40, traveled with her nine children 140 miles (225 km) from Zanesville, Ohio, on Thursday to the federal courthouse in Ashland, Kentucky to support Davis.

"When they put her in jail, we said, 'We're not leaving,'" said Johnston, who sang on stage with two of her children and joined the bagpipe and drum group to play "not God Bless America, but God Save America," she told the crowd.