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NATIONALITY OF FILMMAKER - An Egyptian man chants slogans during a
demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday,
Sept. 12, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world
about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. A man identifying
himself as Sam Bacile, a 56-year-old California real estate developer,
said he wrote, produced and directed the movie. He told the AP he was an
Israeli Jew and an American citizen. But Israeli officials said they
had not heard of Bacile and there was no record of him being a citizen.
(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (Nasser Nasser)
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities identified a Southern California man
who is on federal probation for financial crimes as the key figure
behind an anti-Muslim film that has spawned mob violence against
American embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official
told The Associated Press on Thursday.
There was no sign of
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, at his family's home Thursday in Cerritos
outside Los Angeles, as details slowly began to emerge about his
checkered past, his connections among southern California's right-wing
Christian organizations and his central role in the production of the
film.
Excerpts from the movie, which the filmmaker said was
called "Innocence of Muslims," enraged Islamic protesters in Egypt,
Libya and Yemen over its portrayal of the prophet Muhammad.
Attorney
General Eric Holder confirmed Thursday that the Justice Department had
opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of the U.S. ambassador
to Libya and three other diplomats killed during an attack on the
American mission in Benghazi. It was not immediately clear whether
authorities were focusing on Nakoula as part of that probe.
Much
about the film remains a mystery, including who financed it. Several
actors have come forward and claimed they were duped about their roles,
and that incendiary language was dubbed over their lines.
The
permit to shoot the film, normally a public document, is being withheld
at the "request of federal authorities, who have cited public safety
concerns," according to Ryan Alsop, assistant chief executive office for
Los Angeles County. He did not elaborate. Such permits normally contain
little more than logistical information.
Questions remained
about whether Nakoula's filmmaking and Internet distribution activities
might have violated his federal probation and send him back to prison.
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
sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use
computers, the Internet or online user or screen names for five years
without approval from his probation officer. He is still on probation,
according to court records.
The YouTube account under the
username "Sam Bacile," which was used to publish excerpts of the
provocative movie in July, was used again as recently as this week.
A
spokeswoman for the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts, which
oversees federal probation offices, and a spokesman for the U.S.
Attorney's office in Los Angeles, which prosecuted Nakoula, declined
Thursday to discuss his case. Under court rules, the government can ask a
judge to send a convict back to prison if there is probable cause to
show that probation conditions were violated.
"You don't have the
same First Amendment or Fourth Amendment rights than when you're not on
probation," said Jennifer Granick, a criminal defense lawyer who
specializes in online crimes. "Until you're done with supervision, you
don't have full rights. They can search you without a warrant."
The
law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because
this official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation,
confirmed the AP's earlier reporting that Nakoula was connected to the
persona of Sam Bacile, a figure who initially claimed to be the writer
and director of the film. Bacile turned out to be a false identity, and
the AP tracked a cellphone number used by Bacile to a home in Cerritos
where it found Nakoula.
Sheriff's deputies were called to
Nakoula's property overnight, though Los Angeles County sheriff's
spokesman Steve Whitmore said Nakoula was not in protective custody. He
said county authorities were present because roughly two dozen reporters
and film crews were waiting to interview Nakoula.
Nakoula told the AP that he is Coptic Christian.
An
official of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles said in a
statement Thursday that the church's adherents had no involvement in the
"inflammatory movie about the prophet of Islam." The official,
identified as Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox of Los Angeles,
said that "the producers of this movie should be responsible for their
actions. The name of our blessed parishioners should not be associated
with the efforts of individuals who have ulterior motives."
Egypt's
Christian Coptic populace has long decried what they describe as a
history of discrimination and occasional violence from the country's
Muslim majority.
Coptic Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the largest Christian church in Egypt.
Once
a majority in Egypt, Coptic Christians now make up about 10 percent of
the country's 85 million people. They are the largest Christian
community in the Middle East. Many Egyptian Christians fled to the U.S.
to escape what they say is religious discrimination in the majority
Muslim nation.