36°16′25.4″N 91°16′49.3″W / 36.273722°N 91.280361°W
 | |
| Founded | September 2023 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Northern Arkansas, U.S. |
| Leader | Eric Orwoll |
| Website | returntotheland |
Return to the Land (RTTL) is a white-separatist private membership organization in northern Arkansas, United States.[1][2][3]
History
editThe organization, operating under the name Wisdom Woods LLC, owns over 160 acres (65 ha) near Ravenden, Arkansas.[4][2] Co-founded by Eric Orwoll and Peter Csere in 2023, the community advertises itself as exclusively for white people.[5] The membership application process includes interviews and background checks, whereby candidates are vetted based on European heritage.[5] Jewish people are not considered white by RTTL and thus are barred from admission.[1][6][7] As of July 2025, the first community is home to 40 inhabitants.[8]
There are currently two active communities in Arkansas: Arkansas Ozarks Community I and Arkansas Ozarks Community II.[5] Four more are currently planned: one more in the Ozarks, one in the Deep South, and two in Appalachia.[9]
Founders
editEric Orwoll
editEric Orwoll (who also uses the pseudonym Aarvoll) is the founder and spokesperson of Return to the Land. He is active on social media, mainly YouTube and X, discussing religion, politics, philosophy, Platonism, and white identitarianism.[10][11] He has hosted discussions with other white identitarians, including Nick Fuentes,[12] who has promoted Christian nationalism,[13]white supremacy,[14] the incel movement,[15][16] misogyny, anti-LGBTQ views, and antisemitism, including Holocaust denial.[17][18] Additionally, he has discussed how he was inspired by Orania, the Afrikaner separatist project.[19][20] Orwoll says that he has been a musician for Shen Yun, promoted by The Epoch Times, a far-right media outlet affiliated with Falun Gong.[5][21]
Orwoll characterized public opinion on Adolf Hitler as "one-sided", and has predicted a "second coming" of a Hitler-like leader, "who is going to advocate for your interests because that's how a lot of people see Hitler".[8] Orwoll grew up in La Mirada, outside Los Angeles, and studied French horn at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. On his YouTube channel, he has posted videos about Plato and collective consciousness. He has a strong interest in Greek philosophy. Orwoll voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, but he says that he did so only because he considered the prospect of a Kamala Harris administration worse.[22]
Peter Csere
editCsere is described as the organization's "de facto number two", responsible for the organization's legal framework.[2] In the group's Telegram chat, Csere posted[when?] the phrase "1488", referring to the "Fourteen Words", a white-identitarian slogan, with 88 representing the phrase "Heil Hitler".[2] Csere previously lived in Ecuador, where he co-founded the ecovillages of Fruit Haven and Terra Frutis.[23] In Ecuador, Csere was arrested for stabbing a miner. He has not been formally charged, and claims that he was acting in self defense.[22] On February 28, 2025, Fruit Haven ecovillage published an announcement on its website alleging that Csere had misappropriated funds and stolen cryptocurrency from the community.[24]
Reactions
editThe organization has been criticized by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin,[7] although Griffin's office has indicated that it has "not seen anything that would indicate any state or federal laws have been broken".[25] The Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group for combating antisemitism, has described the organization as illegal under the Arkansas Fair Housing Act and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.[5]
The organization's attempts to expand into Missouri have been met with backlash from Democratic Communications Director Chelsea Rodriguez and Missouri state representatives Jeremy Dean and Betsy Fogle, who jointly stated that the group would not be welcome in their state.[1]
On May 20, 2026, a lawsuit against the developers of Return to the Land was jointly filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Washington D.C.–based law firm Relman Colfax PLLC, and Legal Aid of Arkansas. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Michelle Walker, seeks to stop the organization's "discriminatory housing practices" and to "obtain relief for violations of the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 1981, 1982, and 1985, the Arkansas Fair Housing Act, and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993."[26]
The press release for the announcement of Walker v. Return to the Land, et al. asserts that RTTL is a "white separatist organization attempting to create an all-white nation within the United States by building smaller settlements that exclude anyone who isn't a white, Christian, heterosexual homebuyer". The document additionally claims that the organization's founders "believe white people are genetically superior to all other races" and "advance the view that Jewish people are engaged in a plot to eliminate the white race."[26]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 Sarah Fortinsky (July 24, 2025). "'Whites-only' community seeks Missouri expansion". thehill.com.
- 1 2 3 4 "Whites Only: Inside the far right community excluding people on the basis of their race". Sky News. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Inside a whites-only community in Arkansas". NBC News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Whites-only settlement raises alarm across east Arkansas". Jonesboro Sun. July 10, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kathryn Skopec (July 22, 2025). "A whites-only community could be coming to Springfield area". www.ozarksfirst.com.
- ↑ Staff, T. M. Z. (July 25, 2025). "Whites-Only Community: We Need Separate But Equal Communities, Co-Founder Says". TMZ. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- 1 2 "Arkansas AG slams whites-only community that might be expanding to Missouri". MSNBC.com. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- 1 2 "Whites-only community plotting expansion to another state as its efforts to build a 'white nation' continue". The Independent. July 24, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Return to the Land". Return to the Land. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
- ↑ "Aarvoll". YouTube. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Aarvoll (@Aarvoll_) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on July 3, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ↑ Grylls, George (December 11, 2025). "The sinister US village for white, straight Christians only". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ↑ Owen, Tess (June 7, 2022). "They Love Jesus, Bon Iver, and Incels. Inside America's New Ultranationalist Youth Movement". Vice.com. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ↑ Breland, Ali (August 26, 2025). "America's Next Top Racist". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
- ↑ Moses, Sharon K. (November 9, 2025). "Minorities Who Advocate White Supremacist and Nazi Ideology in the United States". Humans. 5 (4): 28. doi:10.3390/humans5040028.
- ↑ Downen, Robert (October 10, 2023). "What to know about Nick Fuentes, the white supremacist who was just hosted by a major Texas PAC leader". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Multiple sources:
- "Pope condemns Holocaust denial as Australia mulls Kanye West visa". Reuters. January 26, 2023.
White supremacist Nick Fuentes
- "CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp Says 'Bigot' Nick Fuentes Was Booted From Event Over Antisemitic Comments". Forbes. March 3, 2023.
White supremacist Nick Fuentes was removed from the Conservative Political Action Conference this week over his lengthy history of antisemitism
- "We asked 57 Republican lawmakers if they condemn Trump's dinner with Fuentes and Ye. Here's what they said". PBS. November 29, 2022.
The Department of Justice identified Fuentes as a white supremacist last year. He's a Holocaust-denier who has threatened violence against Jewish people and spread hate against Black Americans and other groups.
- "Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick seeks to deflate Nick Fuentes flap by buying $3M of Israeli bonds". The Dallas Morning News. October 23, 2023.
Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist with antisemitic views
- "Pope condemns Holocaust denial as Australia mulls Kanye West visa". Reuters. January 26, 2023.
- ↑ Multiple sources:
- Weigel, David (February 27, 2021). "Rep. Gosar criticizes 'white racism' after speaking at event whose organizer called for white supremacy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
- Coaston, Jane (November 11, 2019). "Why alt-right trolls shouted down Donald Trump Jr". Vox. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- Breland, Ali (November 21, 2019). "How Twitter and YouTube are helping a white nationalist build a community fueled by hate". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- Thompson, A. C.; Fischer, Ford (January 9, 2021). "Members of Several Well-Known Hate Groups Identified at Capitol Riot". ProPublica. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ↑ Aarvoll (January 14, 2025). What Oranians Can Teach Us. Retrieved July 27, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ↑ @DisprinXtra (January 25, 2025). "Return to the land is a movement that wants to start their own Orania in the USA. This was their first visit to Orania. Boere are pioneers" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Dowd, Katie (January 4, 2021). "Epoch Times, one of Trump's favorite 'news' sources, is linked to Shen Yun". SFGATE. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- 1 2 "Arkansas Housing Development Restricted to White Residents Sparks Legal Concerns". August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
- ↑ "90. Peter Csere – Founder Of Terra Frutis And Fruit Haven Eco Villages – UK Fruitfest". February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ↑ Admin (February 28, 2025). "Public Announcement Regarding Peter Csere". Fruit Haven Ecovillage. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Arkansas AG: no laws broken by whites-only settlement—for now". Yahoo News. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- 1 2 "Lawsuit filed against whites-only settlement in northern Arkansas". Arkansas Times. April 20, 2026. Retrieved June 3, 2026.