A federal appeals court held that a man who was kicked out of a school board meeting for making threatening remarks was protected by the First Amendment, but the question of whether he could sue school officials still needs to be hashed out.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed in part and vacated in part the dismissal of John Barna's case against the Panther Valley School District board of directors. The circuit court held that the board members were entitled to qualified immunity in their individual capacity, but remanded the case for further proceedings to answer the question of whether they were immune in their official capacities.