Calif. filmmaker’s family leaves home overnight


September 17, 2012 at 1:21p.m.

Calif. filmmaker’s family leaves home overnight

CERRITOS, Calif. (AP) — The family of a filmmaker linked to an anti-Islamic movie has left their California home in the middle of the night.

A spokesman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says Nakoula Basseley Nakoula’s relatives left their Cerritos home about 3:45 a.m. today. Deputies gave them a ride and they were reunited with Nakoula, then taken to an undisclosed location.

Nakoula wore heavy apparel to disguise his appearance when he left his home over the weekend. He was interviewed by federal probation officers, who are reviewing a 2010 case in which he pleaded guilty to a bank fraud charge.

Federal authorities have identified Nakoula as the key figure behind “Innocence of Muslims,” a film denigrating Islam that ignited violence against U.S. embassies in the Middle East.