Claims that Return to the Land — a "whites-only" communal living group founded in Arkansas — had plans to expand into Missouri spread online in July 2025. The rumor stemmed from a story by Missouri news outlet KOLR-TV.
We reached out to RTTL co-founder Eric Orwoll, who claimed the KOLR reporter, Kathryn Skopec, "exaggerated" his statement in the story. "I was asked by a reporter if I had heard of any groups looking into the Springfield area, and I said that I had, but none that had definitively decided on it as a location and none affiliated with RTTL," he told Snopes.
Skopec provided Snopes with a screenshot of their conversation in which she asked Orwoll whether he saw "Return to the Land coming to the Ozarks of Missouri," to which he responded: "There is a group that is considering developing a community near Springfield. We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state."
It's unclear whether RTTL has definitive plans to establish a settlement in Missouri. However, Orwoll did post on X that he was planning "an RTTL recreational site … within an hour of St. Louis." He told Snopes it would not be a residential community.
In July 2025, a rumor circulated online that Return to the Land — a "whites-only" communal living group established in Arkansas — planned to expand into Missouri.
One Facebook post (archived) making the claim had received more than 14,000 reactions and 26,000 comments, as of this writing. The claim also spread to X (archived) and Reddit (archived).
According to Return to the Land's website, the group is for "individuals and families with traditional views and European ancestry." RTTL began establishing communal living infrastructure on a 150-acre parcel of land in northern Arkansas in 2023, where "numerous families" and construction of new homes is well underway, according to the group's website. Applicants to join the settlement must be of European ancestry, and cannot be Jewish — conditions critics say potentially violate housing discrimination laws.
According to July 2025 reporting by CBS-affiliated Missouri news outlet KOLR-TV, the group's co-founder Eric Orwoll confirmed RTTL also may expand into Missouri. However, he later contested this report.
The July 22, 2025, story (archived) interviewed Orwoll, who reportedly announced the plan for expansion. "We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state," the story quoted Orwoll as saying. The article claimed he confirmed an RTTL group was specifically considering development near Springfield.
We reached out to Orwoll, and he said this was an exaggerated conclusion. He wrote via email: "That reporting is exaggerated, I was asked by a reporter if I had heard of any groups looking into the Springfield area, and I said that I had, but none that had definitively decided on it as a location and none affiliated with RTTL. The group that was considering Springfield is private so I can't discuss who that was."
We then contacted the KOLR reporter who wrote the story, Kathryn Skopec, and she provided a screenshot of their conversation in which she specifically asked Orwoll whether he saw "Return to the Land coming to the Ozarks of Missouri," to which he responded: "There is a group that is considering developing a community near Springfield. We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state."
Following the KOLR report, Missourian politicians and leaders began protesting the alleged expansion into Missouri. "Missouri families are fed up with the fringe extremism Missouri Republicans keep inviting into their communities," said Chelsea Rodriguez, communications director for the state Democratic Party, according to The Hill. "If this hate group tries to relocate to Springfield, they shouldn't expect to be embraced."
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued a statement on July 29 that began:
The NAACP Springfield Chapter vehemently condemns the proposed expansion of Return to the Land (RTTL), a community explicitly designated as whites-only, beyond the borders of Springfield. Such a move starkly contradicts our core values of equity, inclusion, and justice, and undermines the progress toward racial equality that our city has strived to achieve.
There was no primary evidence showing construction of such a community had begun in Missouri, as of this writing, although the group's X page and YouTube account feature numerous videos and images of settlement construction that do not specify the location. This footage likely depicts construction in the established Arkansas settlement, given that groups in other regions appear to be in the planning stages.
The group's site (archived) lists several locations of development, including the original community in northern Arkansas and a second community reportedly established in January 2025 in northeast Arkansas. It also lists several locations in "the initial planning process," including a community in the "deep South," two in the Appalachian region and a third in the Ozarks region.
(returntotheland.org)
On July 26, 2025, Orwoll posted on X (archived) that he was planning "an RTTL recreational site is [sic] Missouri, within an hour of St. Louis." Orwoll told Snopes that it would not be a "residential community."
Sources:
Return to the Land. https://www.returntotheland.org/. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Skopec, Kathryn. 'A Whites-Only Community Could Be Coming to Springfield Area'. Ozarks First, 22 Jul. 2025, https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/whites-only-group-springfield-expansion/.
- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLRzP99QAY. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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