A U.S. official says police have arrested the alleged filmmaker behind the video that sparked weeks of deadly protests across the Muslim world.
Thom Mrozek of the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said Thursday that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was taken into custody and will immediately appear in federal court ahead of a bail hearing.
Nakoula - allegedly the real identity behind the pseudonym Sam Bacile, the director of "Innocence of Muslims" - was briefly taken into custody earlier this month for questioning by his probation officer.
The film depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a thuggish deviant offended many Muslims and sparked a wave of anti-American protests that have cost several lives and saw mobs burn U.S. missions, schools and businesses.
The developments came as the United States temporarily withdrew more staff from its embassy in the Libyan capital for security reasons, but said it hopes to return them to Tripoli early next week.
A senior U.S. official, speaking in New York where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending the U.N. General Assembly, declined to say how many staff were being withdrawn or discuss specifics.