Anthony Bothwell sued the CIA in November 2013 for denying his records request under the Freedom of Information Act relating to five people who may have been involved in the Kennedy assassinations in 1963 and 1968.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley on Thursday removed CIA Director John Brennan as a defendant because a FOIA request applies only to agencies and not individuals.

Though Bothwell had failed to name the CIA as a defendant, the San Francisco judge said it must answer the complaint.

“Because the CIA is sufficiently identified in the body of the complaint, plaintiff’s failure to name the CIA in the caption does not mandate dismissal of the complaint against the CIA,” the nine-page opinion states.