A protester rushed the stage and threw a "bleach-like substance" at the Daily Wire's Michael Knowles during a speech he was giving at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, titled, "Men are not women."

Wait ... what happened?

In a video posted by the Daily Wire, Knowles is giving his talk while hecklers try to shout him down.

"I didn't think I was this intimidating," he quipped.



"I believe that gentleman just threw paint on me," he commented, later noting that he didn't "know what this substance is" and speculating that it could be "milk." The Daily Wire described it as "a bleach-like substance."

He applauded security for taking the culprit down, before continuing his lecture.

"I think whatever sort of paint that guy tried to throw on me, I think it mostly landed on the lectern and on my speech. I've got a very glittery speech about how men are not women," he said with a laugh.

Periodically throughout the video, protesters can be seen at the door trying to force their way past security. Protesters were yelling slogans including "trans rights are human rights," "respect my existence," and "hands up, don't shoot."

After the incident, Knowles tweeted, "A student tried to squirt bleach on me during my speech tonight. Lucky for me [h]e was a left-winger and couldn't even shoot a squirt gun!"

"These are the people conservatives on campus are up against," he remarked.

Knowles later clarified that authorities had informed him it was not bleach but an "unknown odorous liquid." He snarked that it "appears the attacker was a hoaxer who was fine getting charged with assault but wanted to avoid a felony."

What did the university say?

In a tweet of its own, the university said, "We have a responsibility to allow free speech, but we cannot condone physical disruptions of peaceful activities. We believe free speech can be exercised constructively in a way that doesn't put people at risk. We are gathering facts and will review campus policies & procedures."