Judge Denies Request to Remove ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Trailer from YouTube

 A judge Thursday denied a request to order YouTube to remove an anti-Muslim film trailer that has ignited protests around the world as well as attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts including one that killed U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American diplomats.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin rejected the emergency injunction from Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the low-budget anti-Muslim film, “Innocence of Muslims.” The denial was in part due to the fact that Garcia was unable to serve a copy of the lawsuit to Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man who reportedly organized the production of the film.

The judge also denied supporting Garcia’s application because of its likelihood of success, according to court filings. That does not preclude Garcia from refiling, but means that her current application has been thrown out. The judge’s actions mean that the 14-minute trailer for “Innocence of Muslims,” which depicts Muhammad as a philanderer who approves of child abuse, can remain online.

Lavin also cited a federal law that insulates third parties from liability for the content they control.

Google GOOG +0.08%, which owns YouTube, has blocked the trailer in Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia–but it remains online in the United States. YouTube has refused Garcia’s requests to remove the film. Her suit argues that the trailer violates her privacy rights and that the post-production dubbing casts her character in a negative and misleading light.

A representative for YouTube didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Garcia’s attorney, M. Cris Armenta, also said that the actress signed on to a dramatically different project originally entitled “Desert Warriors.” The “historical Arabian Desert adventure film,” as it was listed in an ad, did not contain any mention of Muslims or the prophet Muhammad according to Garcia. The document lists Sept. 2011 as the first time that Garcia became aware of the post-production changes.

“We are very hopeful that the law and facts are on our side,” said Armenta. She also added that the number of death threats received by Garcia have increased in recent days.

Garcia filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Nakoula, suing the filmmaker for slander and fraud. According to the suit, Garcia has received death threats and is unable to visit her grandchildren as the trailer has garnered worldwide attention.

“My client wants to tell the world that she did not condone this film and that she finds it offensive and that she is not someone else’s puppet,” said Armenta.

Armenta also said that she plans on filing a motion for a preliminary injunction within the month. A judge regularly assigned to similar cases will hear that request as opposed to Thursday’s motion, which was heard by a judge that deals with emergency injunctions.

Steven Seiden, Nakoula’s defense attorney, has made it “abundantly clear” that he is not representing him in this civil matter, according to Armenta, who served him with this lawsuit. She also said that she served Nakoula’s federal probation officer and taped a copy to Nakoula’s door in Cerritos, Calif.

Nakoula is currently on probation for a bank fraud case.