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At the rally last March, President Donald Trump addressed protests by declaring to the crowd: “Get ‘em out of here." He later added, “Don’t hurt ‘em—if I say go ‘get ‘em,’ I get in trouble with the press.” | Jeff Kowalsky/Getty Images Court will hear Trump's appeal over rally assault suit

A federal appeals court has agreed to entertain President Donald Trump's bid to throw out a lawsuit claiming he incited violence against protesters at a campaign rally in Kentucky last year.

The Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order Wednesday granting Trump permission to appeal even though decisions refusing to dismiss a case are not normally subject to appeal at the outset of a suit.

Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge David McKeague said the appeals court should have a chance to consider Trump's arguments before the litigation goes forward.

"While the president does not enjoy immunity under the circumstances presented here, an interlocutory appeal is hardly imprudent given the exceptional nature of this case," McKeague wrote, in a decision joined by Judges Helene White and Joseph Hood.

McKeague noted that the three protesters who brought the suit over their treatment at a March 2016 rally in Louisville are seeking to gain "expansive discovery" in the case, including copies of Trump's tax returns. They also want to force the president to give testimony in the case.

"The practical and political consequences of such a case are readily apparent," McKeague wrote. He made clear, however, that the decision to allow the appeal does not resolve the question of whether the protesters' suit should be allowed to move forward.

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"We are convinced that a panel of this court should ensure that the Kentucky claim rests on a solid footing before permitting litigation to continue. It may, or it may not," McKeague wrote. The ruling Wednesday could delay the underlying suit by a year or more, if it is ever allowed to proceed.

At the rally last March, Trump addressed protests by declaring to the crowd: “Get ‘em out of here." He later added, “Don’t hurt ‘em—if I say go ‘get ‘em,’ I get in trouble with the press.”

Trump's lawyers say the comments on their face don't amount to an exhortation to violence and that allowing litigation over such comments in a political campaign would chill political speech. Lawyers for the protesters say the president's intent is relevant to the case and the remarks are open to varying interpretations.

U.S. District Court Judge David Hale sided with the demonstrators on that issue, concluding that they were free to argue that the "context" of Trump's remarks may have amounted to a call to violence.

"The mere absence of overtly violent language in Trump’s statement does not appear fatal to Plaintiffs’ incitement claim," Hale ruled.

An attorney for the protesters Greg Belzley, said he welcomed the chance to present the issue to the appeals court.

A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Hale, an appointee of President Barack Obama, agreed in August to authorize an appeal of his ruling, but Trump also needed permission from the 6th Circuit to move forward.

McKeague and White were appointed by President George W. Bush. Hood, a federal district court judge from Kentucky assigned to the appeal, is an appointee of President George H.W. Bush.