A cross-section of Americans reached out Thursday to Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the maker of the online movie trailer "Innocence of Muslims," which was blamed by top Obama officials including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the terror attack on U.S. operations in Benghazi, Libya, a year ago.
In a message directed to Nakoula, Melanie Turner wrote, "This was a horrible thing this administration did to you, and I am so ashamed of my country for doing such a thing."
Nakoula, preparing for his release from a federal detention center Thursday, granted WND an interview in which he explained that he made the video to warn America about the threat of Islamic jihad.
Turner said it was a well-directed warning.
"This religion is something that has been fought against since it began," he said. "If our countrymen do not wake up, it will take over here. This Democratic Party is determined to have it here in the U.S."
Nakoula was in a lower-security location for the last few weeks of his detention. A federal judge ordered the detention on charges related to his probation in a fraud case, and it purportedly had nothing to do with his video.
Officials working with Nakoula confirmed he was released Thursday morning and will relocate to Buena Park, Calif., where he will be under the care of First Southern Baptist Church and Pastor Wiley Drake, an activist for liberty and civil rights.
Robert Overstreet also dispatched a message to Nakoula, saying, "I believe Nakoula deserves encouragement, and only the Lord can provide this for him."
Another, Kimberly Melton, said, "If you can let him know how much some of us appreciate his courageous work and stand, I would greatly appreciate it."
Mona Danielson was thinking more about a solution.
"It is our own leaders that should be in jail," she said. "I hope you know that most of America never believed this story and are outraged as to what they have done to you."
Shirley Shane wrote: "I am so very sorry that our corrupt government used you as a scapegoat for Benghazi. I pray that justice will be served to those that are truly responsible, such as Obama, Clinton, and on down the line."
Nakoula explained to WND he made the movie and wrote his new book, "Innocence," to warn America about the threat of Islamic jihad.
"We don't need Sept. 11 again. We don't need Nidal Hasan again," he told WND, referring to the Muslim Army officer who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas.
The Egyptian-born Coptic Christian said Americans also need to be more aware of Islamic persecution of Christians in Egypt.
He dedicates his book – described on the cover as "the original script and storyboards for 'Innocence of Muslims'" – to Stevens and the three other Americans who died in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack, Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty and Sean Smith.
The trailer:
It was Hillary Clinton who, according to the father of slain Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, vowed that the person who made the video would be arrested and prosecuted. Joe Woods said he spoke with Clinton when the body of his son arrived in the U.S. from Benghazi.
But evidence shows the White House knew immediately that the Benghazi incident was an organized terror strike, not a random act of violence by an out-of-control mob of Muslims, as top Obama officials claimed even weeks after the fact.
Find out why the left behaves as it does in "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder."
The Associated Press reported the man behind the video had violated a probation order and acquired a driver's license under a false name. The prison time came on the order of U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder.
Nakoula told WND his project is political but not religious.
"I like to warn this country about terror. My movie is a political movie, not a religion movie," he said. "The U.S. gives me a lot. I live in this country. We're living in this country."
Nakoula described violence as the "culture" of Islamic jihadists who want to "go to heaven right away."
Looking for film distributor
Nakoula said the full movie was "put in my bank."
"When the right time comes, I will invite the whole media to watch my movie," he said, noting he's now hunting for a distributor.
He also said he has a looming court appearance because of the conditions he will have to meet as a free man.
The New York Times called the video a "crude" depiction of Muhammad as "a bloodthirsty, philandering thug."
The Obama administration clung for weeks to the story that it was Muslims upset about the video who spontaneously rioted in Benghazi, killing Stevens and three others. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice made the claim on five morning news shows the Sunday after the attack.
But the claim was contradicted immediately by Mohammed Magariaf, president of Libya's National Assembly, who said the video had "nothing to do" with the attack. Evidence has mounted ever since that it was an organized attack on the U.S. by a group affiliated with al-Qaida.
In the introduction to his book, Nakoula writes of being born in Egypt and coming to America as an immigrant. He decided to write the book to remember the four Americans killed.
"And second, I want to let the world know that I am not afraid," he wrote.
"This book is the script for my film, 'Innocence of Muslims.' In the days and weeks following the attack on an American consular facility in Libya by a jihadist militia, this film was incorrectly blamed for the violence and the killing. Once representatives of the U.S. government – including the president and the secretary of state – focused blame on my film, Islamic clerics the world over declared Days of Rage. In fear of the riots that followed through the Muslim world, governments, commentators and politicians worldwide both condemned and looked to prohibit the kind of free expression that is our right in America."
He said the film "is a true story."
"I based it on classical Islamic literature about that religion's prophet, Mohammed – including the Quran, hadiths, and the 'Sirat Rasul Allah,' his first biography."
Nakoula said the scenes in the script "are taken from stories actually told about Mohammed, found in books revered by Muslim scholars."
"'Innocence of Muslims' is about how much the world will suffer if we don't stop the culture of death and terrorism as soon as we can," he said.
"What is this culture of death and terror? It is nothing but a set of beliefs. This believer craves the afterlife that has been cynically promised him: he wants to drink wine and embrace 72 virgins – if only he dies while fighting jihad in Allah's cause against Islam's enemies. They believe that a river of women, wine, milk and honey awaits them once they have accomplished the task, we know, of slaughtering innocent people."
Those who wish to contact Nakoula can respond to [email protected].