(The Center Square) – A day after President Donald Trump endorsed the prospect of designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh says he is convinced, like the president, that many Antifa protesters are “paid agitators.”

“We've seen examples of that sort of behavior here in Washington,” Walsh texted The Center Square on Tuesday.

The movement has historical roots in the Pacific Northwest, including forming one of the nation's earliest modern such groups, Rose City Antifa , in Portland, Ore., in 2007.

On Monday, The Center Square asked the president if he would designate Antifa a domestic terror organization in the wake of growing political violence, including last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

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