Retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn believes some of the people protesting President-elect Donald Trump are “paid anarchists,” he explained Saturday at a gathering for the Young America’s Foundation.

Flynn elaborated that the explosion of protests to Trump’s election nationwide represent a “sickness in our system,” and emphasized that a defining characteristic of the U.S. is the “rule of law.” He lampooned protestors labeling themselves progressive, telling the audience “progressive equals socialism.”

Flynn’s accusation comes after a Daily Caller investigation found a left wing-charity, the Progressive Unity Fund, was funding anti-Trump protests across the country. The fund reportedly backs the Act Now To Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, which is organizing “emergency protests” in major cities after the election. “The ANSWER Coalition is mobilizing across the country to organize and take part in emergency actions,” the group reportedly said in a statement after the election.

Flynn served as a valuable defense surrogate for Trump throughout the 2016 election, at one point he was floated as a possible vice presidential pick for the president-elect. Flynn’s name is now reportedly in the running for U.S. defense secretary or national security advisor in Trump’s administration.

If Flynn is nominated to serve as defense secretary, he would need a congressional waiver to serve in office. Current U.S. law requires any military officer to be out of uniform for a period of seven years before being eligible to serve as secretary of defense.

Flynn told the conference he believes Trump’s election came as a result of “a sense that we were going in an irreversible direction” in the U.S and repeatedly called the election a “revolution.” “This is the biggest election since George Washington decided not to be a king,” he declared.

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