WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The man whose film about Islam sparked anti-American protests before a fatal attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya says the government is hiding him.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, speaking with CNN following his release from prison on a probation violation sentence, declined to say whether he thought the Obama administration put him in danger in September 2012 when there was speculation his film, "The Innocence of Muslims," may have played a role in the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi in which U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
Nakoula has been released from prison but is still being detained at a halfway house in Southern California, and is to be formally released next month, CNN said Tuesday.
Nakoula, who is writing a book about his experience, said the administration made a mistake when it appeared to blame the terrorist attack on anger over the YouTube release of a trailer for his movie, which was critical of the Prophet Muhammad and was blamed for sometimes-violent demonstrations in several Arab cities.
He was jailed after controversy surrounding the film led authorities to discover he had violated probation in a 2012 fraud conviction.
Nakoula told CNN he was shocked when administration officials suggested the attack in Benghazi came in response to his film, "Because, you know, I never thought, my movie can cause anyone trouble or anyone can get killed from my movie."
