Ready to rumble: Malcolm Harris (pictured), arrested after a showdownwith police on the Brooklyn Bridge in October 2011, is preparing for a trial Dec. 12 after refusing to plead guilty. (REUTERS)
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No retweet, no surrender.
An Occupy Wall Street protester who was arrested 15 months ago and has made government access to social media postings the center of his legal battle refused to plead guilty yesterday because the judge declined to rule on the admissibility of his tweets.
Malcolm Harris, 23, will instead prepare for a scheduled Dec. 12 trial.
Harris was arrested in October 2011 on the Brooklyn Bridge roadway and charged with disorderly conduct — a violation punishable by up to 15 days in jail.
The Manhattan District Attorney wanted access to Harris’ older tweets — initially published but now inaccessible — in a search for evidence that Harris and the other OWS protesters knew they were not allowed on the bridge roadway.
Harris and Twitter fought to keep the tweets out of the DA’s hands.
After months of legal challenges by Twitter and the defense, the DA won access to Harris’ tweets.
The protester had a deal in place yesterday to plead guilty and be sentenced to time served, but the agreement disintegrated at the final hour.
Judge Matthew Sciarrino, Jr. was surprised when Harris made a last-minute motion to suppress the tweets. Harris was looking for a ruling he could fight after his plea.
Sciarrino refused to rule on the motion and Harris did not plead.
“The tweets are problematic but not insurmountable,” Harris’ defense lawyer, Martin Stolar, told The Post.
The DA’s office said it offered Harris a deal that included 10 days’ community service.