Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has launched an investigation into the “Whites-only” group, which is seeking to expand in the Midwest. Return to the Land (RTTL) describes itself as a private member association where members are based on European ancestry. Critics call the group racist and antisemitic, as minorities and Jews are reportedly denied membership.
According to The Hill, RTTL is attempting to expand its reach from its base in northern Arkansas to the Springfield, Missouri, area, a co-founder of the group said recently. The news has sent shockwaves among activist groups and state and local officials.
Attorney General Griffin, a Republican, says he plans to investigate the group.
“Racial discrimination has no place in Arkansas or anywhere in a free society,” he told TMZ, adding that the group is “all sorts of legal issues, including constitutional concerns.”
RTTL began development in northern Arkansas, which sits on 160 acres of land. Group co-founder Eric Orwoll told KOLR that he not only hopes to expand to Springfield but eventually to all 50 states.
“We want to ensure that White Americans who value their ancestry will have the ability to live among like-minded people in the future if they choose to do so, regardless of demographic changes,” Orwoll told the local news outlet.
In doing so, he said RTTL plans to coordinate homeschool groups, healthcare networks, and legal advocacy groups. All of this would be barred to people of color.
“Whites should have the ability to live among their own people if that’s what they want to do, and mass immigration is quickly making that nearly impossible in many Western nations,” Orwoll said.
Activist Rebukes Whites-Only Group
As the attorney general investigates RTTL, the group is standing its ground and consulting with attorneys about the legalities of its operations, TMZ reports.
Missouri Democrats and activists are pushing back on the group’s efforts.
“Missouri families are fed up with the fringe extremism Missouri Republicans keep inviting into their communities,” Chelsea Rodriguez, communications director for the state Democratic Party, told The Hill in a statement. “If this hate group tries to relocate to Springfield, they shouldn’t expect to be embraced.”
The Anti-Defamation League has also rebuked the group, on X, saying the group not only revives “discredited and reprehensible forms of segregation,” but it should also be illegal under the Arkansas Fair Housing Act, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, as well as other federal and state civil rights laws.
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