Group behind whites-only community sues Arkansas, federal agencies

The founders of a whites-only community in northeast Arkansas have filed a lawsuit against several state and federal agencies claiming their constitutional rights are being violated by investigations into the housing development.

Return to the Land, a white nationalist organization that describes itself as a “private membership association” promoting “European heritage communities” and “traditional views,” filed the lawsuit in federal court in Arkansas on Friday. 

A company affiliated with the group owns 160 acres of land near Ravenden for a housing settlement that’s only open to whites, Christians and heterosexuals.

The community has been widely criticized by elected officials in Arkansas and Missouri, and its planned development received international attention last year. It’s also the subject of a federal discrimination lawsuit filed earlier this year.

The group’s lawsuit accuses several agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department and Arkansas’ attorney general, of retaliation by opening investigations into the community.

“Whether through explicit coordination or convergent animus, the defendants have engaged in a campaign to punish the plaintiffs for their protected speech and association through the mechanism of government investigation itself,” the lawsuit said.

Jeff LeMaster, spokesperson for Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office, said the lawsuit’s claims “are meritless.”

“We look forward to demonstrating that in court,” he said.

The Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is also a defendant in the suit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

Plaintiffs in the case include Eric Orwoll and Peter Csere, co-founders of Return to the Land. The lawsuit claims the group is being unfairly targeted because its membership criteria includes European heritage.

“The government would not subject a Black, Hispanic, Jewish or Muslim intentional community to the same multi-agency campaign,” the lawsuit said. 

Missouri resident Michelle Walker filed a federal lawsuit in May accusing Return to the Land of violating housing and civil rights laws by rejecting her application. Walker’s application included questions about her ancestry and religion, according to her complaint.

Walker is a white Christian woman who has Jewish ancestry, a Black husband and biracial children, according to the complaint. The Return to the Land online application portal deemed Walker’s family “not an ideal fit” for the organization.

The land for the Arkansas development is owned by Wisdom Woods, a limited liability company that was formed by Return to the Land members and is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed Friday.

Return to the Land this month asked a judge to dismiss Walker’s lawsuit, arguing she didn’t have standing. Walker’s application to Return to the Land membership was rejected but she hadn’t made an offer to buy land, the group’s filing said.