In July 2000, Upson, known within the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as "Baby Hitler", with several previous convictions for hate-related offences, was sentenced to two years in prison for threatening the pastor of a predominantly black Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, congregation.[2][3] The judge stated that Upson had come to Nova Scotia on a mission to rid churches of blacks, and she was described as a "card-carrying member of the KKK, Aryan Nations, and the Nationalist Party".[4]
She appealed her three convictions, and, in May 2001, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal reversed two of them, and she was then released from prison. She was re-arrested a few days later, on an Amherst warrant, to face assault charges stemming from incidents while she was incarcerated; she was then released on bail.[5]
In July 2003, there was wide coverage in Canadian media that Upson had filed as a candidate for mayor of Ottawa. During the campaign, she received contributions from the KKK,[6] and she voiced support for racial segregation. She had also set up a Canadian branch of the National Socialist Movement.[1] A week after the original coverage, it was reported that there were three outstanding arrest warrants for Upson from Nova Scotia, two for assault and one for failure to appear.[7]
Arrested in October for breach of probation,[8] she remained on the ballot for the November 10, 2003 election and finished sixth, with 1,312 votes (0.71%),[9] considered a "startling number".[10]
