A 39-year-old Londoner faces a mischief charge after a woman was caught on video taking a hammer to a car travelling in Wednesday's Idle No More protest on Wellington Rd.

In the video, viewed by thousands on YouTube, the hammer-wielding woman leaves an apartment building and walks directly toward the convoy of vehicles travelling with the peaceful protest of more than 1,000 demonstrators.

She steps into the street, appearing to shout into the windows of protesters as she waves a hammer.
Suddenly she whacks the hammer on the trunk of a light-blue Ford, then walks away.

The woman who was driving the car gets out, surveys the damage and raises her arms as if to say, "What are you doing?"

"The owner of the vehicle was obviously surprised and with the assistance of the person who shot the video, we were able to identify the suspect," Const. Ken Steeves said.
He said damage was estimated at about $1,000.

"Only she knows why she did it," Steeves said. "She may have heard all the honking, but she may not have even known who they (protesters) were or why they were rallying."

More than 1,000 people turned out to London's Idle No More rally -- organized by the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation as one of several protests across Canada this month as a grassroots movement to raise awareness about treaty rights.

Idle No More supporters say government policies violate those rights.