Los Angeles (CNN) — The California man believed to be the maker of an anti-Islam film that ignited a firestorm in the Muslim world was cooperative when authorities escorted him to a voluntary interview, officials said Saturday.
“It was all choreographed,” said Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “He was ready and willing and very cooperative.”
The overnight meeting with a probation officer came a day after federal officials said they were reviewing the probation of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who was convicted of bank fraud in 2010 and placed on supervised probation for five years.
Federal officials consider Nakoula to be the filmmaker behind the anti-Islam “Innocence of Muslims.”
Whitmore told CNN that Nakoula hleft the local sheriff’s station after the federal officials were done interviewing him.
“He is gone and he is free,” he said of Nakoula, who was bundled up in a coat, hat and white scarf as he was escorted from his house. Nakoula decided to cover himself, Whitmore told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.
Whitmore earlier dismissed reports that Nakoula had been arrested, saying he was never in handcuffs or in custody.
Karen Redmond, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, said Friday that Nakoula’s federal probation was under review.
Redmond didn’t provide details of why or when the probation review was initiated, or how long the process would take.
While on probation, Nakoula can’t access computers or any device that can access the Internet without approval from his probation officer.
Nakoula served one year in federal prison at Lompoc, California, but officials couldn’t immediately determine whether Nakoula paid any of the court-ordered restitution of $794,700, according to probation department officials and court records.
Since notice of the film spread through YouTube, Nakoula has been out of public view and ensconced with his family in their home in Cerritos, California, where journalists have been gathered seeking information about his elusive background. Cerritos is about a 20-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The movie, backed by hardcore anti-Islam groups in the United States, is a low-budget project that was ignored in the United States when trailers were posted on YouTube in July. But after Egyptian television aired certain segments, violent protests erupted in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Violent mobs attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, leaving the ambassador and three other American men dead.
The amateurish film portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, buffoon, ruthless killer and child molester. Islam categorically forbids any depictions of Mohammed, and blasphemy is an incendiary taboo in Muslim world.
Los Angeles (CNN) — The California man believed to be the maker of an anti-Islam film that ignited a firestorm in the Muslim world was cooperative when authorities escorted him to a voluntary interview, officials said Saturday.
“It was all choreographed,” said Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “He was ready and willing and very cooperative.”
The overnight meeting with a probation officer came a day after federal officials said they were reviewing the probation of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who was convicted of bank fraud in 2010 and placed on supervised probation for five years.
Federal officials consider Nakoula to be the filmmaker behind the anti-Islam “Innocence of Muslims.”
Whitmore told CNN that Nakoula hleft the local sheriff’s station after the federal officials were done interviewing him.
“He is gone and he is free,” he said of Nakoula, who was bundled up in a coat, hat and white scarf as he was escorted from his house. Nakoula decided to cover himself, Whitmore told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS.
Whitmore earlier dismissed reports that Nakoula had been arrested, saying he was never in handcuffs or in custody.
Karen Redmond, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, said Friday that Nakoula’s federal probation was under review.
Redmond didn’t provide details of why or when the probation review was initiated, or how long the process would take.
While on probation, Nakoula can’t access computers or any device that can access the Internet without approval from his probation officer.
Nakoula served one year in federal prison at Lompoc, California, but officials couldn’t immediately determine whether Nakoula paid any of the court-ordered restitution of $794,700, according to probation department officials and court records.
Since notice of the film spread through YouTube, Nakoula has been out of public view and ensconced with his family in their home in Cerritos, California, where journalists have been gathered seeking information about his elusive background. Cerritos is about a 20-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The movie, backed by hardcore anti-Islam groups in the United States, is a low-budget project that was ignored in the United States when trailers were posted on YouTube in July. But after Egyptian television aired certain segments, violent protests erupted in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Violent mobs attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, leaving the ambassador and three other American men dead.
The amateurish film portrays the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, buffoon, ruthless killer and child molester. Islam categorically forbids any depictions of Mohammed, and blasphemy is an incendiary taboo in Muslim world.
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