Alexandria, Va. ? A federal judge refused Tuesday to change the site of Zacarias Moussaoui’s trial to Denver and entered a plea of innocent on his behalf during a volatile hearing for the only man charged in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

Throughout his arraignment a short distance from the Pentagon, Moussaoui clashed with U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema over his legal rights.

“I have no plea. I will plead no contest. I have nothing to say to the United States. That’s all,” he declared.

Brinkema interrupted Moussaoui, who was flanked by U.S. marshals as he stood before the judge, and told him a plea of no contest nolo contendere “may result in an almost certain finding of guilt.” She told Moussaoui his position was inconsistent with his previous requests, and at one point said, “You don’t control the courtroom. I do.”

Federal law gives a judge discretion to reject a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and enter a not guilty plea for a defendant when the judge believes the plea is not knowingly and voluntarily given.

Brinkema instructed court-appointed attorney Alan Yamamoto to write Moussaoui a letter explaining the consequences of a no-contest plea. Toward the end of the arraignment, Brinkema told him, “Mr. Moussaoui, you are not an attorney, you do not understand the nuances of the legal system.”

After Moussaoui repeatedly tried to enter a no-contest plea, a clearly exasperated Brinkema said, “It strikes this court that you are the only one other than the prosecution who is really trying to convict you.”

“I do not accept this plea of not guilty,” he said.

The 34-year-old Moussaoui, who is of Moroccan descent, is charged with conspiring to help the 19 hijackers and Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network plot the September attacks on New York and Washington.

He faces six conspiracy charges, including four that carry the death penalty.

Moussaoui accused the judge of interfering with his defense by refusing to let a Muslim lawyer from Houston, Charles Freeman, represent him, and by not letting him make phone calls from jail.

“I have no means to defend myself,” he protested.

Freeman was in the courtroom, but Brinkema refused to let him sit at the defense table with Moussaoui because he is not registered to practice law in Virginia and has not formally asked to enter the case as Moussaoui’s attorney. Freeman declined to comment afterward.

The judge granted Moussaoui’s request earlier this month to act as his own lawyer.