Return to the Land

36°16′25.4″N 91°16′49.3″W / 36.273722°N 91.280361°W / 36.273722; -91.280361

Return to the Land
Founded2023; 2 years ago
HeadquartersNorthern Arkansas, U.S.
LeaderEric Orwoll
Websitereturntotheland.org

Return to the Land (RTTL) is a white nationalist private membership organization in northern Arkansas, United States.[1][2][3]

History

The 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 are thus 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

Eric Orwoll

Eric 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 the Afrikaner separatist project Orania.[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 Trump, but he says only because he considered the prospect of a Kamala Harris administration worse.[22]

Peter Csere

Csere 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 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 he was acting in self defense.[22] On February 28, 2025, Fruit Haven ecovillage published an announcement on its website alleging Csere had misappropriated funds and stolen cryptocurrency from the community.[24]

Reactions

The 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, together stating that the group would not be welcome in their state.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Sarah Fortinsky (July 24, 2025). "'Whites-only' community seeks Missouri expansion". thehill.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Inside the whites-only settlement in Arkansas: The group building a 'fortress for the white race'". Sky News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "Inside a whites-only community in Arkansas". NBC News. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  4. ^ "Whites-only settlement raises alarm across east Arkansas". Jonesboro Sun. July 10, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kathryn Skopec (July 22, 2025). "A whites-only community could be coming to Springfield area". www.ozarksfirst.com.
  6. ^ Staff, T. M. Z. (July 25, 2025). "Whites-Only Community Co-Founder Says Races Need Separate Community Centers". TMZ. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Arkansas AG slams whites-only community that might be expanding to Missouri". MSNBC.com. July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Whites-only community plotting expansion to another state". The Independent. July 24, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  9. ^ "Return to the Land". Return to the Land. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  10. ^ "Aarvoll". YouTube. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  11. ^ "Aarvoll (@Aarvoll_) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on July 3, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ^ Grylls, George (December 11, 2025). "The sinister US village for white, straight Christians only". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Breland, Ali (August 26, 2025). "America's Next Top Racist". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Multiple sources:
  18. ^ Multiple sources:
  19. ^ Aarvoll (January 14, 2025). What Oranians Can Teach Us. Retrieved July 27, 2025 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ @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 Twitter.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b "Arkansas Housing Development Restricted to White Residents Sparks Legal Concerns". August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  23. ^ "90. Peter Csere – Founder Of Terra Frutis And Fruit Haven Eco Villages – UK Fruitfest". February 1, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  24. ^ Admin (February 28, 2025). "Public Announcement Regarding Peter Csere". Fruit Haven Ecovillage. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  25. ^ "Arkansas AG: no laws broken by whites-only settlement—for now". Yahoo News. July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
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