Colorado Politics: The federal appeals court based in Colorado agreed on Tuesday that Denver Public Schools could not restrict a man’s access to district property or bar him from his volunteer football coaching position, despite the district’s concern about harassment and bullying directed toward employees.

DPS sent a letter to Brandon Pryor in October 2022 outlining his numerous comments to and about staff advocating for their firing, telling them to “stay the f–k away from me” and accusing them of “flagrant racism.” The letter informed Pryor he was prohibited from district property because his “persistent intimidating conduct” was affecting DPS operations.

However, a trial judge issued an injunction blocking DPS from enforcing its restrictions after concluding they likely violated Pryor’s First Amendment rights. On appeal, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed the restrictions appeared to target Pryor’s offensive speech, rather than to address any physical threat he may have posed.

Visit Colorado Politics for more.