Probation office looking at anti-Muslim filmmaker

Federal probation department in California is looking at the file of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the filmmaker behind the above film that sparked protests at U.S. embassy's in the Middle East.

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - Federal probation officials are investigating the activities of a southern California filmmaker convicted of financial crimes who has been linked to an anti-Islamic movie inflaming protests across the Middle East, a spokesman for the U.S. federal court system said Friday.

The probation department in California's central district is reviewing the case of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, who was previously convicted on bank fraud charges and was banned from using computers or the Internet as part of his sentence. The review is aimed at learning whether Nakoula violated the terms of his five-year probation.

Feds ID anti-Islam filmmaker who sparked protests
Romney: Anti-Muslim film dispiriting, wrong
Who is the person behind anti-Islam film?
Anti-Islam filmmaker "Sam Bacile" identity in question

Karen Redmond, a spokeswoman for the administrative office of the U.S. courts, confirmed Friday the review is under way. If the probation department determines Nakoula violated terms of his release, a judge could send him back to prison.

Federal authorities have identified Nakoula, a self-described Coptic Christian, as the key figure behind "Innocence of Muslims," a film denigrating Islam and the Prophet Muhammad that ignited mob violence against U.S. embassies across the Middle East. A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press on Thursday that authorities had connected Nakoula to a man using the pseudonym of Sam Bacile who claimed earlier to be writer and director of the film.

Violent protests set off by the film in Libya played a role in mob attacks in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officials. U.S. Embassy gates in Cairo were breached by protesters and demonstrations against American missions spread to Yemen on Thursday and on Friday to several other countries.

Nakoula pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and was ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

64 Photos

Muslim world protests anti-Islamic film

It could be difficult to establish a probation violation case against Nakoula. In the federal court system, the conditions of supervised release are geared toward the offense for which a defendant was found guilty and imprisoned.

In Nakoula's case, the offense was bank fraud. His no contest plea was to charges of setting up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers, depositing checks from those accounts into other phony accounts and then withdrawing the illicit funds from ATM machines.

While it was unclear what might have provoked authorities' interest, the filmmaker's use of a false identity and his access to the Internet through computers could be at issue, according to experts in cyber law and the federal probation system. Nakoula, who told The Associated Press that he was logistics manager for the film, was under requirements to provide authorities with records of all his bank and business accounts.

The probation order authorized in June 2010 warned Nakoula against using false identities. Nakoula was told not to "use, for any purpose or in any manner, any name other than his/her true legal name or names without the prior written approval of the Probation Officer."

• no previous page
• next

1/2

[matt6052]

Provided he understands that he needs to have someone else distribute his promotional videos to the Internet, then it should be okay.

The man is clearly a publicity genius. Day five of rioting across the Muslim world and it's all his doing. Even the Danish political cartoonist must be impressed.

[joshandsox]

Here is an opinion for all the anti-free speech pundints..The muslim world has every right to fight back against American imperialism. It is not this simple video that has breed hatred for Americans across the middle east and the rest of the world. As a country that promotes democracy such as the U.S does, it sure seems a little Ironic that we do so with overwhelming force. Invading sovereign Countries to overthrow goverments whose political agendas we do not agree with appears to be more like hipocrisy than democracy. American Ideology forced opoun others is dictatorship. I am a christian and not muslim, However I do not feel I have the right to change the rest of the worlds views to coincide with my own. That being said The film maker of this video has evry right to his opinion. And every right to make it known. The internet is the modern day soapbox. Every american has the right under our constitution to jump on and yell as loud as they like. Perhaps we shouldnt be surprised that the muslim world might take offense, however this goverment ha given them much miore reason to riot than this little video has..Go after your politicians not the citezens that exercise there rights.

[lephuntz12]

So, making a movie is a violation of probation? And how did 'the world' learn the name of this 'film maker'? Hope this guy has a 'will'. If not, he can hook-up with Legal Zoom.com

[rgaviator]

Question: Which of the following technologies that the whole world uses today were invented in Islamic nations: Computers, electricity, the light bulb, the telephone, modern medicine, modern agriculture, satellites, radar, lasers, television, radio, advanced metallurgy, airplanes, jet engines, plastics, composites, the internal combustion engine or oil drilling technology?

Answer: None. Not a single one.

They all were developed in the Christian, capitalist West - Europe and the United States. And the groundwork was laid in the clear thinking of the first race of Western civilization, the Ancient Greeks.
So roll up the magic carpet and rub the lamp one more time, then launch the cruise missile with the 800 lb N bomb.

[mxp5769]

Ok REALLY? What has the criminal (or otherwise) background of the maker of this movie got to do with ANYTHING??? The press jumps right into Obama's lap screaming it needs to be censored in OUR COUNTRY!!! The nutjobs doing the killing can do whatever they want in THEIR countries but dont even THINK of telling this (last I knew) free country what movies they can or can't make!
Be VERY careful & watch how this proceeds.... they will eventually scream 'terrorist' & this person, it will then be decided,(thanks to that law Obama signed but 'isnt going to use') he can be detained indefinitely without even being charged. Thanks for 'protecting' us Barack - I see what you did for what it is - transitioning us to the 'nanny state'. This 'free' country is changing FAST & nobody seems to see it coming. VERY scary & terribly sad.

[rider1956]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Surely we will not changes potuses in mid-stream now. Is this the Dem plan?

[RulesofEngagement]

They need to look hard because the road will lead to Right Wing nut jobs like this Klein guy. The nutty Right Wing Fundy Chruch groups are as much terrorist as the nuts protesting in the M.E.

[earth5695]

Thanks again for your insight.

It proves that blood libels are alive and well with morons that have computers.

Any "Right Wing but jobs " cut anyones heads off or burn your house because they didn't agree with you ?

and you call yourself a "liberal" ?

[dbkita]

@Sam671:

Regardless of Zionist political persuasion (and obviously yours), were you even alive during the 80s? And if so did you even pay attention to the events? Did you follow any of the Iran Contra investigation? Did you remember your Saint Ronald Reagan (who we now know had early stages of Alzheimers in 1986-86) say "I do not recall" over 190 times? Or do you just ignore reality and line up with your political party lock, stock and barrel? Just wondering ...