Justin Bieber’s manager arrested for not tweeting. Really

If you use Twitter for any purpose whatsoever, you probably have at least a passing recognition of the phrase “Justin Bieber.”

The teen sensation was discovered over YouTube by manager Scooter Braun and has a heavy presence on the microblogging service. Braun surrendered to police today on charges related to an almost-riot at Roosevelt Field Mall in Nassau County on Long Island last November, after failing to attempt to disperse a crowd via Twitter. If that sounds a bit trumped up, police say he actively tried to inhibit attempts to break up the unruly crowd:

Detectives said Braun refused cops’ orders to send out a Twitter message to fans saying the event had been cancelled due to dangerous overcrowding conditions and blocked the singer’s account so no one else could send the Tweet either.

However, Braun says that it only took him seven minutes to update fans on Twitter about the cancellation, and that he posted this to the microblogging service. (It is unclear whether the following tweets were posted to Braun’s account or Bieber’s.)

“they are not allowing me to come into the mall. If you don’t leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police have just told us that.”

“the event at roosevelt mall is cancelled. Please go home. The police have already arrested one person from my camp. I don’t want anyone hurt.”

The prosecutor’s office in Nassau County says Braun was arrested this morning and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal nuisance. Since Braun’s arrest, #freescooter has been a popular trending topic on Twitter.