E-Paper
Return to the Land: This ‘whites only’ community doesn't allow non-European religions, gays
Return to the Land is a settlement spawning 160 acres in the Ozarks, and is a ‘whites only’ community.
A ‘whites only’ community has come up in the Ozarks in Arkansas. A group of like minded people have been working hard over the last one and a half years to level the land, lay roads, build cabins. Now, there are wells, a community center, and even a school house for kids to take lessons.
Return to the Land (RTTL) is a settlement spawning 160 acres, and its founders call it “intentional community based around shared ancestry,” Sky News reported.
On X, they reportedly wrote “We started a Whites only community,” though the official description reads “We seek to create safe communities for the next generation of Americans.”
Forty people are currently part of the settlement, and hundreds more, from all over the world have reportedly applied to be members.
What is RTTL and its beliefs?
Eric Orwoll is the leader of RTTL, and believes if ‘You want a white nation? Build a white town’. Speaking to the Sky News reporter, he admitted to be building a ‘fortress for the white race’.
Reportedly, the group has plenty of Nazi references on its Telegram chat. Peter Csere, the de facto number two, posted the phrase 1488. As per the publication, 14 refers to "14 words", a white supremacist slogan, while H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 would be ‘HH’ or ‘Heil Hitler’. Csere said it was ‘a funny comment, a throwback’.
Orwoll, meanwhile, maintains that there won't be the coming of a second Hitler, unless people do the work beforehand.
Also Read | What does 'MechaHitler' mean? Grok's posts on Nazi Holocaust sparks outrage, X responds
Explaining to Sky News, he said, "Well, there I am, honestly, I'm addressing the sentiments of my audience," Orwoll says. “Hitler is a very controversial historical figure. I think the mainstream view is one-sided. It's informed by World War II propaganda, but also the contrary position that Hitler did nothing wrong, that many people online say: that's also a one-sided view. I think all historical figures are complex, multi-dimensional, but when I say, 'you're gonna have to wait for that new Hitler to arise', I'm not saying you're going to have to wait for a new person to start a new Holocaust. I am saying you are going to wait for a charismatic leader who is going to advocate for your interests because that's how a lot of people see Hitler.”
Three other settlements are now reportedly under way, all of what Orwoll sees as a ‘path to power’.
Supposedly, many of the wider group include law enforcement officials or federal agents, who did not wish to be with journalists, Sky News reported.
RTTL chose Arkansas mainly due to low land prices, and less demanding building regulations. While living out there is tough, some people definitely felt it was worth giving up their previous lives for. Sky News spoke to one of the earliest members, who said “I figure there's nothing else like this in the country, it should at least exist. Do people really think we should never be able to choose our neighbors?”
How to join RTTL?
To join RTTL one must sign up for Private Members Association, or PMA. Those from ‘non-European religions’ like Islam, are banned. As are gay people. Whatever the RTTL does not view as conforming to ‘traditional views’ or ‘European ancestry’ has no space in this settlement.
Upon application, people are vetted, which includes a video interview to confirm ethnicity. Then, they can buy shares in the Limited Liability Company or LLC. These shares translate to acres of land that members can build on.
Is RTTL legal?
While RTTL believes they can circumvent civil rights legislation, like the Fair Housing Act, which prevents discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability, experts beg to differ.
“I just truly believe that we don't need to get back to the Jim Crow era [of segregation]. We've been through that before. I think no one should be discriminated against because of the skin color. If you really look deep into Civil Rights Act, it doesn't state that. I think they're misunderstanding what it states because there have been many organizations that tried to carve that out. That's not right,” said Barry Jefferson, president of the Arkansas branch of the NAACP, America's oldest civil rights group.
Meanwhile, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said, “Racial discrimination has no place in Arkansas or anywhere in a free society. These allegations raise all sorts of legal issues, including constitutional concerns. My office is reviewing the matter.”
