LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A California man linked to an anti-Islam film that has stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was ordered jailed without bond yesterday by a federal judge over accusations that he violated terms of his probation on a bank fraud conviction.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, has been under investigation by probation officials looking into whether he violated the terms of his 2011 release from prison on a bank fraud conviction while making the film.
As a condition of his release, Nakoula, a Coptic Christian who most recently lived in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos, was barred from accessing the Internet or using aliases without the permission of a probation officer, court records show. “The court has a lack of trust in the defendant at this time,” Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal said in making the ruling, citing a pattern of deception and the possibility Nakoula was a flight risk.
The crudely made 13-minute movie, billed as a trailer, was filmed in California and circulated online under several titles including Innocence of Muslims. It portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant.
On Sept 11 and in the ensuing days, the clip sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest across the Muslim world.
