Producer of anti-Islam film arrested, headed to court for bail hearing

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was arrested, a federal prosecutor's spokesman says


• He is believed to be behind "Innocence of Muslims"


• He met with a probation officer this month


• He is on probation for five years in connection with his 2010 conviction for bank fraud

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The California producer of an anti-Islam film that upset the Muslim world was scheduled to appear in a federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon for a preliminary bail hearing, federal officials said.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man allegedly behind the inflammatory film "Innocence of Muslims," was arrested and is in federal custody, said spokesman Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Earlier this month, filmmaker Nakoula met with a probation officer in the wake of a federal review of his probation for his conviction of bank fraud in 2010. He was placed on supervised probation for five years.

Nakoula was cooperative at that voluntary interview, authorities said. He was bundled up in a coat, hat and white scarf when he was escorted from his house for that interview. He wasn't under arrest at that time.

This month, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Nakoula's federal probation was under review.

Spokeswoman Karen 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 determine this month whether Nakoula paid any of the court-ordered restitution of $794,700, according to probation department officials and court records.

When notice of the film spread through YouTube, Nakoula remained out of public view and ensconced with his family in their home in Cerritos, California, about a 20-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The movie, backed by 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.

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