Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man whose film "The Innocence of Muslims" has sparked violent protests across the Muslim world, was taken into custody Thursday by federal authorities for allegedly violating his probation.
Nakoula had been in hiding, but had recently voluntarily talked to authorities at a Sheriff's Department substation near his home in Cerritos, Calif .
Also read: "Innocence of Muslims" Actress Re-Files Complaint Against YouTube, Others in Federal Court
"Mr. Nakoula was arrested pursuant to allegations made by the United States Probation Office that he has violated the terms of his supervised release," U.S. Attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek told TheWrap. "We are waiting for a court hearing to begin in federal court in downtown Los Angeles."
As previously reported, Nakoula, 55, was banned from using the internet as part of his probation for a bank-fraud conviction. Nakoula, who was released from prison in 2011 and began making the film shortly thereafter, may have violated his probation by, among other means, uploading the trailer for the movie on YouTube.
Also read: Taliban Backs Bounty on "Innocence of Muslims" Filmmaker; Clinton Links Al Qaeda to Attacks
According to the U.S. District Court, Central California's website, an initial hearing was scheduled for 3 p.m. or later Thursday at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
Nakoula's arrest comes a day after Cindy Lee Garcia, one of the actresses in the project, re-filed her suit against Nakoula in federal court, after being shot down by Los Angeles Superior Court earlier.
Garcia, among other cast members in the film, claims that the anti-Muslim dialog was dubbed into the film in post-production, and that the original script gave no indication that the film would be insulting to Muslims.
More to come…