Alleged 'Innocence Of Muslims' Filmmaker May Be Back In Hiding

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Cerritos man believed to be the maker of an anti-Islam movie that sparked riots around the globe may be back in hiding.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has not been seen since he was questioned and released on Saturday.

It's unclear if Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies dropped him off at an undisclosed location or if he was picked up from the sheriff's station.

Video from the scene captured the amateur filmmaker being escorted by deputies just after midnight to the voluntary interview with federal probation officers.

The 55-year-old was covered up, concealing his identity and provided no comment.

Reporter Suraya Fadel spoke with criminal defense attorney and CBS2/KCAL9 Legal Analyst Steve Meister about the case.

Meister, who is not representing Nakoula, told Fadel that federal officials are still investigating whether Nakoula violated the terms of his 5-year probation. It stems from a no contest plea to bank fraud.

"A condition of his probation was to not have any Internet access or allow anyone to have it on his behalf without the advance permission of his probation officer," Meister said.

"Whatever he does for employment, he has to get his probation officer's permission in advance before he begins work. And in this case, he made a movie. It looks like he made this movie. Well movies take money to make and actors were paid on this so somehow he funded it. I'm not sure how he funded it and I imagine the probation officer is going to want to know," he added.

Nakoula's attorney, Steve Seiden, has not returned our calls. Seiden told CBS2's Carter Evans last week that he was hired specifically to represent Nakoula in regard to his supervised release.

Deputies say Nakoula does not plan on returning to his home any time soon. His family remains holed up inside.