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

Steve Whitmore, a spokesman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, says the family of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula left their Cerritos home about 3:45 a.m. Monday. They were given a ride by sheriff’s deputies, reunited with Nakoula and then headed 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 no contest to bank fraud charges.

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.

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