Man charged in connection to alleged hate crime involving Muslim woman

London police have issued an arrest warrant for a 34-year-old London man in connection to an alleged hate-motivated incident.

Investigators said they will charge Joseph Howard Coddington with assault and uttering threats upon his arrest after a Muslim woman was approached outside her home last week.

He began yelling at her, threatened to burn down her home and attempted to spit on her, police said.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said the woman was also told to "go back to your country," among other hateful comments.

"The actual nature of the threats made were deemed to be hate-motivated," Sgt. Sandasha Bough said in the days following the incident. She said the hate crime unit was called in to investigate.

A woman sits in front of a microphone — Nusaiba Al-Azem is the legal director at the National Council of Canadian Muslims. Based in London herself, she says the local Muslim community is "exhausted" after a man threatened to burn down a visibly Muslim woman's house on May 29, 2025. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC News)

There were no reported injuries, police said.

Police are asking for the public's assistance in finding Coddington, who is described as white, approximately 5'8", with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a grey ball cap, work boots with red laces, and a yellow and black hoodie with "LOONEY" written across the chest in red.

Anyone with information or dash-cam, doorbell or security footage of the suspect is asked to call London police.