@wilbee10091 Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but try Frederick Douglass (black abolitionist/civil rights activist in US in 1800s) - Specifically his essay "A Plea for Free Speech in Boston" that directly challenges Antifa-style attempts to invade, shout-down, and prevent speakers they don't like from speaking. It's startling the parallels between the means employed by those supporters of slavery, and the supposed progressive activists of today.

I'm not sure the essay itself is that groundbreaking by today's standards. It hits the standard moral foundations of free speech that we're all familiar with. The part that makes it interesting to me is the author: A black abolitionist. The exact type of person advocating for the exact kind of cause that progressives should embrace. However, those same defenses of free speech he employs, are now considered "racist dog whistles" by many progressives today.

If you're looking for something more contemporary, look into Brendan O'Neill. He's an author at Spiked who gives some pretty passionate speeches in favor of free speech - including a lot of historical context for why it's so important. He's a free speech absolutist who even gives reasons why we should be very careful about even carving out exceptions for incitement to violence - After all, is telling fellow activists that "We've got to go on the offensive in order to take them down!" a call to arms? What about "They won't know what hit 'em"? Or "We've got 'em in our sights!"? If someone gives a speech in the run-up to an *election* that contains such euphemisms, and someone listening to the speech goes and commits an act of violence, should the speaker be arrested and charged with incitement?