Salon.com > Sam Bacile

“Innocence of Muslim” filmmaker’s probation case creeps on

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:45:00 +0000

CERRITOS, Calif. (AP) — Legal experts say federal officials will likely take a long time before acting on the probation violation case of the man behind the anti-Muslim video that is inflaming the Middle East.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Nakoula Basseley Nakoula violated his probation for a 2010 check fraud conviction by uploading the film's trailer to YouTube. He is not allowed to use computers for five years.

Enraged Muslims have demanded punishment for the Egyptian-born American citizen. First Amendment advocates and President Barack Obama defend his right to free speech, though they condemn the film.

Law experts say normal cases can move quickly once a probation officer prepares a report.

They say owing to the political nature of this case, authorities are likely consulting with several federal agencies as they investigate.

Protests of anti-Islam film across the world

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:40:00 +0000

A look at protests and events across the world on Tuesday responding to an anti-Muslim film, nearly a week after angry crowds began assaulting a string of U.S. embassies in the Mideast.

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AFGHANISTAN

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus in Kabul, killing at least 12 people in what a militant group said was revenge for the film. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack killed eight South Africans, three Afghans and a Kyrgyzstani — all aviation workers who were headed to the capital's airport. A spokesman for the Islamist militant group Hizb-i-Islami claimed responsibility for the dawn attack and said it was carried out by a 22-year-old woman.

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EGYPT

General prosecutor issued arrest warrants for seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor Terry Jones and referred them to trial on charges linked to an anti-Islam film. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that the accused, which includes the film's alleged producer, face charges of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information. The office said they could face the death penalty, if convicted.

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ISRAEL

Germany bans “hate preacher” Terry Jones

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:11:00 +0000

German right-wing groups Pro Deutschland and Pro NRW may have been planning to invite Terry Jones to visit Germany soon--but no longer. German officials have banned the odious mustachioed pastor from setting foot on German soil. (Jones, known for his Quran burning, hate pandering, and effigy hanging, is still a bad memory in one German town). German newspaper Speigel reports that Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has asked the Interior Ministry to block Jones, and sources tell Speigel that Westerwelle believes "hate preachers have no business being in Germany." A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said that Jones' presence could "run counter to the interest of maintaining public order."

In other words, Germany: 1, Terry Jones: 0.

Black smoke rising from U.S. embassy in Tunisia

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:45:00 +0000

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A large cloud of black smoke rose around the U.S. embassy in Tunis Friday as stone-throwing protesters and police waged a pitched battle.

Thousands of demonstrators massed outside the embassy and several were seen climbing the outer wall of the embassy grounds and raising a flag on which was written the Muslim profession of faith, an Associated Press reporter on the scene said.

Police responded by firing tear gas, and police gunfire could be heard.

A group of several dozen protesters briefly managed to enter the embassy compound and set fire to cars in an embassy parking lot. They were pushed back outside by police and special forces who continued to arrive on the scene.

Crowds angry over an anti-Muslim film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad have assaulted U.S. embassies across the Middle East.

“Innocence of Muslims” filmmaker was also a meth cook

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Before creating whack-job movies, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the dodgy filmmaker behind "The Innocence of Muslims," (previously identified as "Sam Bacile") used to cook meth. The Daily Beast reports:

According to a source close to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was arrested by the L.A. Country Sheriff's Department on March 27, 1997 and charged with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Nov. 3, 1997 to one year in county jail and three years probation. The D.A.’s office said he violated probation on April 8, 2002, and was re-sentenced to another year in county jail.

As the media uncovers more about Nakoula--who knows, maybe he will land in jail, after all.

Should “Sam Bacile” be jailed?

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:45:00 +0000

What does it take to be a professor at an Ivy League university and to get an opinion published in USA Today?

Anthea Butler is an associate professor of religious studies at Penn. Yesterday she called for the arrest of "Sam Bacile" — the "person" associated with the anti-Islam movie associated with violent riots in Libya and Egypt. I say "Sam Bacile" and "person" because it appears increasingly likely that "Sam Bacile" is a made-up persona, possibly of a convicted fraudster named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. (Moreover, it's increasingly in doubt whether the worst violence in the embassy attacks was inspired by the film or just used by the anti-film mobs as an opportunity to launch an assault.) Anyway, Butler called for his arrest on her Twitter account, then swiftly made her account private when criticized.

Hollywood of hate

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Not since the Pamela Anderson-Tommy Lee honeymoon tape has a crappier film received so much attention. Having watched the trailer for “The Innocence of Muslims,” it seems to me that the best possible response would be a new episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Tragically, some in Egypt and Libya apparently thought this crude propaganda was worth rioting over, and the riots have now left four people dead in the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

The attacks on the American embassy and consulate, and the deaths they caused, are clearly a criminal outrage, and responsibility belongs solely to the killers. There’s obviously no equivalence between producing a crude propaganda film and taking part in a violent riot. (Though new reporting suggests that the film may actually have had very little do with the violence in Libya.) Such a tragedy shouldn’t be used to limit speech, however offensive. If you don’t support the free speech of clearly talentless, bigoted provocateurs like the pseudonymous Sam Bacile you don’t really support free speech.

Libyan attack may have been planned

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:11:00 +0000

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) -- A mob armed with guns and grenades launched a fiery attack on the U.S. Consulate, killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. President Barack Obama strongly condemned the violence, vowed Wednesday to bring the killers to justice and tightened security at diplomatic posts around the world.

The attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens - the first U.S. ambassador to die in the line of duty since 1979 - came on Tuesday's 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist strike and presented a new foreign policy crisis for the United States in a region trying to recover from months of upheaval.

While the deadly assault was initially blamed on an anti-Islamic YouTube video, U.S. officials say the Obama administration is also investigating whether it was a planned terrorist strike to mark the anniversary of 9/11. Intelligence officials said the attack on the Benghazi consulate was too coordinated or professional to be spontaneous, according to a U.S. counterterrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

Who is Sam Bacile?

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 19:54:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California-based filmmaker went into hiding after a YouTube trailer of his movie attacking Islam's prophet Muhammad sparked angry assaults by ultra-conservative Muslims on U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya. The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three American members of his staff were killed.

Speaking by phone Tuesday from an undisclosed location, writer and director Sam Bacile remained defiant, saying Islam is a cancer and that the 56-year-old intended his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.

Protesters angered over Bacile's film opened fire on and burned down the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Libyan officials said Wednesday that Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as the building came under attack by a mob firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.

Bacile said he is a real estate developer and an Israeli Jew. But Israeli officials said they had not heard of him and there was no record of him being a citizen. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to share personal information with the media.