Anti-Islam Film Consultant Feels “No Guilt” After Violence

Self-described consultant Steven Klein said the producer of a film that sparked protests wanted him to fact check the production

A Hemet man who claimed he was a consultant on an anti-Islam film that sparked protests in Egypt, Yemen and Libya said he feels "no guilt" in the wake of the violence, but on Thursday said he's leaving town after receiving "several threats."

Steven Klein, who told NBC4 the film was shot at a Duarte studio last year, said the producer -- whose identity and location remain a mystery -- approached him for help with fact checking with the production. An employee at the Duarte studio told NBC4 it creates Christian programming and only once made a Muslim-themed film.

The casting call lists the producer as Sam Bassiel, but Klein said the name is a pseudonym. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the producer -- a Sam Baciel -- went into hiding after violent attacks in Benghazi, Libya killed the U.S. ambassador and three other officials.

"I have no blood on my hand," Klein said. "I feel no guilt. If I tell the truth and they go out and murder, the guilt and shame is on their head, not me."

A trailer of the film -- it remains unclear whether the movie was actually completed -- was posted online in July and did not receive significant views until it was linked to the violent protests. Originally titled "Desert Warrior," it was described in a casting call as "an historical Arabian desert adventure film."

The production, re-titled "Innocence of Muslims," turned out to be something much different, according to cast and crew members. A cast member who asked NBC4 not to release her name said she was "shocked" by the final cut of the film.

Klein has led anti-Islamic protests and has a "long history of ties to militant Christian organizations," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that monitors extremist activity in the United States.

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