WASHINGTON — Conservative podcaster Michael Knowles will recall facing down hundreds of pro-transgender protesters who forced him to cut a 2023 appearance at the University of Pittsburgh short when he testifies before a Senate panel Tuesday on rising “ leftist terrorism .”

The outspoken culture warrior had come to the Pennsylvania campus to debate transgenderism, but was greeted by lefty agitators hurling smoke bombs at police barricades — blocking roads and forcing nearby buildings into a “soft lockdown.”

“Before we reached the stage, we heard an explosion, which caused our security personnel to escort us back into the wings,” Knowles will tell the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, according to prepared remarks shared with The Post.

“A demonstrator, later identif

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