A Nesquehoning resident said he was only joking at a Panther Valley School Board meeting when he said that he might bring friends who have guns to a future meeting.

John Barna also said he was joking when, at a following meeting, when he told board members he might have to come after them.The statements and additional actions addressed in a lawsuit eventually got Barna not only banned from attending all future board meetings, but also "setting foot on school district premises."As a result, he filed suit in federal court stating his freedom of speech was violated.On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson rendered a decision siding with the school board that it is permitted to keep Barna out of the meetings.The case dates back to incidents that occurred during Panther Valley School Board meetings in April 2010.Barna, 82, had regularly attended board meetings and often participated in the public comment portion, the board says.Named defendants in the suit were then board members Anthony Pondish, Koreen Nalesnik, Jeffrey Markovich, David Hiles, William Hunsicker and Anthony DeMarco.In his original suit, Barna charged that the board "acted intentionally and with callous disregard to Mr. Barna's known statutory and constitutional rights."In December 2012, an insurance carrier proposed settlement of the lawsuit, but the board rejected the proposal.In the lawsuit, besides claiming his constitutional rights were violated, Barna said he "suffered substantial damages including litigation expenses including attorney fees, loss of reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience, mental and emotional anguish and distress and compensatory damages, in an amount to be determined by a jury and the court."The board banned Barna from meetings in April 2010. On October 2011 he was told he was not allowed on school district premises.He responded with a lawsuit filed on April 5, 2012in U.S. District Court, Scranton.It was on April 8, 2010, that the situation reached a flash point at school board meetings.Court records state that at that meeting, Barna said he and some friends were confused by a contract the board had with an electrical firm.Markovich invited Barna to bring his friends to the next meeting, to which Barna responded, "You wouldn't like that. Some of my friends have guns."Barna claimed he was joking and felt Markovich took it as a joke since he responded, "I'll have to wear my bulletproofvest."At the April 22, 2010, meeting, Barna again attended and had a discussion before the session with Markovich who reportedly said his remarks could have been taken as a threat and asked him to leave.Barna entered the board meeting room anyway. When told to leave, two board members were laughing. Barna told them, "don't laugh," and then said he may have to come after them.Barna said in his court filing that what he meant by this was that he was "going to get even" or investigate the electrical contract matter more thoroughly.Court records show that Barna attended meetings through the remainder of 2010 and through 2011.On Oct. 12, 2011, he again got angry with the board and threatened to fight with Markovich.Barna, at a later date, wanted to apologize for his actions but, court papers say, he was told that the board did not care about his apology.On Oct. 18, 2011, attorney Robert Yurchak, board solicitor, wrote to Barna and informed him that he was not permitted "to attend any further school board meetings, any extracurricular events or be physically present on the campus of the Panther Valley School District for any reason effective immediately."The letter to Barna also said, "Your conduct has become intolerable, threatening and obnoxious. You are interfering with the function of the school board and the school district as a whole."