Arkansas AG slams whites-only community that might be expanding to Missouri

Arkansas AG Tim Griffin is investigating Return to the Land (RTTL), a 150-acre community founded by Eric Orwoll in 2023 in northeast Arkansas. RTTL restricts membership to whites, aiming to preserve white American cultural identity. Orwoll asserts this reflects members’ desire to live among like-minded individuals.

RTTL operates as a Private Membership Association, which Orwoll claims allows legal exclusion of non-whites and Jews. Griffin’s probe examines if this violates anti-discrimination laws. Orwoll told KOLR-TV that mass immigration reduces options for whites to live in homogeneous communities, a choice he defends as a right.

Orwoll plans to expand RTTL to Springfield, Missouri, and all 50 states, promoting self-sufficient communities. Griffin’s office stated that racial discrimination contradicts a free society and raises constitutional issues. RTTL’s private land ownership is central to its legal defense, though its compliance with the Fair Housing Act remains under scrutiny.

The community’s vision emphasizes traditional living and resource independence, aligning with some conservative homesteading values. The investigation’s findings may impact RTTL’s expansion and similar groups’ legal standing.