Man behind anti-Muslim film to appear in court

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California man with many aliases who was behind an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East is expected to be asked by a judge on Wednesday whether he violated his probation for a 2010 bank fraud conviction.

Federal prosecutors said Mark Basseley Youssef, 55, had eight probation violations, including lying to his probation officer and using aliases. If Youssef denies those allegations, a judge will then likely schedule an evidentiary hearing.

Youssef has been in a federal detention center since Sept. 28 after he was arrested for the probation violations and deemed a flight risk by a magistrate judge.

He went into hiding after a 14-minute trailer for the movie "Innocence of Muslims" was posted on YouTube. Angry protests stoked by the film broke out in Egypt and Libya and violence related to the film has spread, killing dozens. Enraged Muslims demanded punishment for Youssef, and a Pakistani cabinet minister has offered a S$120,000 bounty to anyone who kills him.