For the past several days, the anti-Islam filmmaker being held responsible by some for the riots and murders at U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya has been shrouded in mystery. Very little was known about the man, “Sam Bacile,” whose bizarre film “Innocence of Muslims” had offended Muslims calling for his head. Bacile was purportedly an Israeli-born Jew forced into hiding after word of his film began to spread. As it turns out, though, “Sam Bacile” is a pseudonym.
An Associated Press investigation has revealed that “Bacile” is in fact Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Egyptian Coptic Christian living in California. According to the AP, Nakoula has a history of fraud and has used several aliases.
Nakoula denied he directed the film and said he knew the self-described filmmaker, Sam Bacile. But the cell phone number that AP contacted Tuesday to reach the filmmaker who identified himself as Sam Bacile traced to the same address near Los Angeles where AP found Nakoula. Federal court papers said Nakoula’s aliases included Nicola Bacily, Erwin Salameh and others.
…
Nakoula, who talked guardedly about his role, pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.
Be sure to read the whole, fascinating thing. Nakoula repeatedly denies that he is the film’s director or that he and “Sam Bacile” are one and the same, but the evidence of his dishonesty is compelling.
In an additional twist, the film’s actors were apparently unaware of Nakoula’s intent, and they claim that much of the dialogue was added in post-production:
“The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer,” said the statement, obtained by the Los Angeles Times. “We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred.”
Anti-islamic film maker hires and misleads actress who didn't know what she was getting her self into http://t.co/kQeqszeh
— Dave (@Merlyn43) September 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/Omega40/status/246312826233319424
Twitter is buzzing after the revelations:
Here are the 2009/2010 court documents for Nakoula B. Nakoula, ID'd by LE as maker of Mohammed film – http://t.co/dIYMjQMV
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) September 13, 2012
Peeling the onion: MT @thedailybeast says Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, man behind anti-Muslim film, was once convicted of manufacturing meth
— Kimberly A.C. Wilson (@kacw) September 13, 2012
And it gets weirder by the minute! http://t.co/OomvGkCq #libya #attack #ambassador #movie
— FASHION GALORE (@fashion_galore) September 13, 2012
could this story get any more ridiculous??? http://t.co/q76I0KMw #anti-Islamicfilm
— Evita Mouawad (@Evita_Mouawad) September 13, 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, you have a talent for getting yourself into trouble! http://t.co/sqdb3E5L
— Jetson (@jetson911) September 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/DanWhitcomb/status/246307486666203137
Fuck Nakoula Basseley Nakoula
— Icarus.fly (@EmilioGuido3) September 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/soltani67/status/246315756122415104
Imbecile, more like. MT @defamer: "Muslim Innocence" director a convicted fraudster named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula? http://t.co/DnNCfZMe
— Denise Danks (@mmechevrolet) September 13, 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, Fatwa coming your way.
— Marius (@MariusMJS) September 13, 2012
I would hope that someone is taking a close–and preferably speedy–look at possible parole violations by N. B. Nakoula.
— Wendell (@WndlB) September 13, 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula doesn't deserve to be in this country anymore.
— Jarron B (@jarron_burdine) September 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/majesticx989/status/246322012866355200
You can run, but you can't hide. The man behind "The Innocence of Muslims" is 55-YO Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, per @AP: http://t.co/TyfceaAN
— Kevin D. Grüssing (pronounced Grew-Sing) (@KevDGrussing) September 13, 2012
so because of this piece of trash #Nakoula aka #sambacile the #coptics in #egypt will pay the price coptics are already killed for no reason
— Dark T. O. KNIGHT (@Kotaiban) September 13, 2012
Of course, whether he’s “Bacile” or Nakoula, the man behind the movie is still being blamed for Tuesday’s attacks:
https://twitter.com/KhalafAlHabtoor/status/246167844952358912
The idiot who is responsible for many deaths. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula-Sam Bacile: Innocence of Muslims filmmaker http://t.co/lrfB8oKv
— SwoodLady (@SwoodLady) September 13, 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula unmasked. He deliberately stirred anti-American sentiments with his "Innocence of Muslims" for greed.
— Roger Rathebe (@NeoRathebe) September 13, 2012
RT @AP BREAKING: U.S. law enforcement says #Nakoula is filmmaker of anti-Muslim movie blamed for violence. SHOULD BE TRIED FOR MURDER!
— Debi Staron (@HollywoodDebi) September 13, 2012
https://twitter.com/Alphazero29/status/246320638204198912
https://twitter.com/FaizanASyed/status/246308248402149376
#Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is identified as the man behind the film that got our Americans killed N other Embasies under attack.SHAME ON HIM!
— CINDY LOVE (@SINDERELA702) September 13, 2012
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula – that's the sh**head with a criminal past responsible for this "film" & all the mayhem http://t.co/PfOsPiVW
— Rezaul Hasan Laskar (@Rezhasan) September 13, 2012
So, "Pastor" Terry Jones and Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, how does it feel to have killed a US ambassador? http://t.co/b4sQbxCr
— Tim Weber (@tim_weber) September 13, 2012
Some are wrongheadedly calling for Nikoula to be jailed or killed:
PUT THE GOP BITCH IN JAIL FOR MURDER. HANG THE BASTARD! http://t.co/HGi8vZ4Z
— David Scott (@Artistscott) September 13, 2012
And he is reportedly still concerned for his safety:
Law enforcement officials tell @ABC that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has received “some threatening calls” and he is “scared for his life”.
— Katie Hinman (@khinman) September 13, 2012
More from ABC:
Sheriff’s deputies were sent to the Cerritos, California home of Nakoula, 55, Thursday to protect him and his family, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News. According to a sheriff, the police were at Nakoula’s home overnight Thursday but have now left, as media reports identifying him as the man behind “Innocence of Muslims,” and listing his address, have circulated.
According to California law enforcement officials, Nakoula, who is also known to authorities as Bacily Nakoula, was frightened for his life and “scared of retaliation” against his family.
Sheriffs from the Cerritos police station were sent to his home to keep Nakoula safe and to provide a uniformed presence to assist the members from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, official reports said.
Regardless of Nakoula’s shadiness and his film’s perceived offensiveness on a religious, not to mention artistic, level, threats to his safety and to the safety of his family are unacceptable. Lynch mob tactics may be the methods preferred by the rioters and radicals in Egypt and Libya, but in this country, we are above that kind of barbarism.
Some have accused Nakoula of anti-Semitism, asserting that he hid behind a false Jewish identity in order to protect himself and deflect any fallout from his film away from Copts and toward Jews:
So, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, Coptic (Egyptian) Christian, tries to throw the Jews (Israel) under the bus while insulting the Muslims. #WOW
— Jetson (@jetson911) September 13, 2012
How Nakoula Basseley Nakoula aka ‘Sam Bacile” Libeled Jews | Jewish Journalhttp://t.co/OLoeDGmO
— Coalescence (@Picassokat) September 13, 2012
the man who made the video against the prophet Muhammad initially tried to blame Jews for the video. What a piece of shit Nakoula Basseley
— #ANTIFA & not a Twatwaffle like Trump (@putmygamefaceon) September 13, 2012
Anti-Islam film director identified, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula lied about being Israeli/Jewish to amp up anger http://t.co/KLt6Asii
— Sarah Strnad (@FoxyStrnad) September 13, 2012
It may be some time before Nakoula’s motivations are fully revealed, but one thing is clear: the depth of his deception is significant. In concealing his true involvement with “Innocence of Muslims,” he has called his character further into question. It’s doubtful that he anticipated this sort of notoriety, but he’s got it now, and his headache is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
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