White-Only Group Wants to Build Community in Missouri

A controversial whites-only organization is looking to expand its footprint and civil rights groups are sounding the alarm.

Return to the Land (RTTL), a self-described “private member association” that bars Jewish people and only accepts members of European ancestry, has confirmed it’s considering creating a community near Springfield, Missouri. The group, co-founded by Eric Orwoll, already has a 160-acre property in northern Arkansas where it’s been developing what it calls a “homestead community” since 2023.

According to its website, RTTL’s mission is to form “decentralized” communities where members can raise families, homeschool their children, and celebrate “shared ancestry.” Orwoll said the group wants to expand into all 50 states, building networks of communities and recreational centers for white Americans who want to live among “like-minded people.”

Civil rights advocates say the group’s plans are more than troubling — they could be illegal. Earlier this month, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement on X calling the northern Arkansas project a blatant return to segregation. The ADL said the group’s practices appear to violate the Arkansas Fair Housing Act, the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and other state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

“We urge state and local officials to ensure Arkansas and Missouri remain inclusive communities, not havens for intolerance,” said Lindsay Baach Friedmann, regional director of ADL South Central.

Orwoll has pushed back, saying RTTL doesn’t sell real estate and is protected as a private association. “Americans have the right to freely associate and form intentional communities on whatever basis they choose,” he said.

Despite growing criticism, Orwoll says RTTL is moving forward. “We want white Americans who value their ancestry to have a place to live among their own if they choose,” he said, adding that mass immigration has made that harder in “many Western nations.”

The ADL has categorized RTTL as part of “a growing trend in white separatist organizing,” while Orwoll insists the group’s criteria are about “heritage” rather than hatred.