‘Whites-only' community seeks Missouri expansion
The prospect of a growing 'whites-only' community — where members are evaluated based on European ancestry and where Jews are denied membership — is raising concerns among state and local officials and activist groups.
RTTL, which describes itself as a private member association, began development in 2023 on its base in northern Arkansas, which sits on 160 acres of land.
A co-founder of the group, Eric Orwoll, told Nexstar's KOLR that he hopes to expand soon to an area of land outside Springfield, and, eventually, expand 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 news outlet.
He said RTTL plans to coordinate homeschool groups, health care networks, legal advocacy groups and more — all of which 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.
'If individuals decide to live in multi-racial communities, then they should be allowed to do so, but we don't want racial forced on us in every aspect of life,' he added.
Missouri Democrats are pushing back on the effort. Chelsea Rodriguez, communications director for the state Democratic Party, called RTTL a 'hate group' and said they won't be welcome.
'Missouri families are fed up with the fringe extremism Missouri Republicans keep inviting into their communities. If this hate group tries to relocate to Springfield, they shouldn't expect to be embraced,' Rodriguez said in a statement.
'Missouri Democrats have a clear message for any hate group eyeing our state: This is our home. We were raised here, and we share the same respect for the Constitution and Second Amendment as our neighbors. Your hate has no place in our home,' she continued.
State Rep. Jeremy Dean, a Democrat who represents part of Springfield in the Missouri House of Representatives, said he has 'no doubt' that groups like RTTL are 'emboldened by federal and state politicians who attack marginalized communities and fuel a climate where hate can grow.'
'Southwest Missouri has a racist past, but we've made progress and we're not going back. White nationalist groups have no place in our country, especially not here,' Dean added in a statement.
Another Missouri Democrat who represents part of Springfield in Jefferson City, state Rep. Betsy Fogle, said the 'blatant racism embraced by Mr. Orwoll's group' is not welcome in there.
'Southwest Missouri is too beautiful to be ruined by a worldview so ugly. History has been very clear about the outcomes of groups like Mr. Orwoll's who seek to leave behind others based on the color of their skin,' Fogle said in a statement.
'I refuse to let history repeat itself in my hometown and would ask my colleagues to do the same,' she added.
The group has faced pushback in Arkansas as well.
Lindsay Beach Friedmann, Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) regional director of the south central region, said the move 'revives discredited and reprehensible forms of segregation' and should be illegal under federal and state civil rights laws, as well as under the Arkansas Fair Housing Act and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
'We urge the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, local elected officials, and law enforcement to act swiftly to ensure that Northeast Arkansas remains a welcoming and inclusive community, not a refuge for intolerance and exclusion,' the ADL said in a statement earlier this month.
Orwoll pushed back on the ADL's remarks, saying his group embraces a 'shared ancestral values' and not violence or hatred, according to KOLR.
He also brushed off concerns that the organization is breaking the law, noting RTTL is a private association and doesn't sell real estate.
'The attorneys we've consulted believe what we're doing is legal,' Orwoll said. 'Americans have the right to freely associate and form intentional communities on whatever basis they choose.'
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) does not share that view.
'Racial discrimination has no place in Arkansas or anywhere in a free society. These allegations raise all sorts of legal issues, including constitutional concerns,' Griffin said in a statement. 'My office is reviewing the matter.'
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NBC News
14 minutes ago
- NBC News
As Texas plows ahead with new maps, governors grapple with the prospect of mid-decade redistricting
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Newsweek
44 minutes ago
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Cracks Emerge in G7 Over Macron's Palestine Move
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We must also ensure the demilitarization of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza. And finally, we must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region. There is no alternative. The French people want peace in the Middle East. It is our responsibility—as French citizens, alongside Israelis, Palestinians, and our European and international partners—to prove that peace is possible." What Happens Next? Following Macron's announcement, divisions may further complicate efforts to coordinate Western policy on the Middle East and could weaken the G7's collective influence over the peace process. Within the U.K., Starmer's Labour government faces continued pressure from MPs, trade unions, and allied parties to match France's move, with speculation surrounding potential policy shifts following a planned meeting with Trump in Scotland this week.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but the left will never admit it
There is seemingly no worthwhile accomplishment or good deed authored by President Trump that the left will give him credit for achieving. That in and of itself speaks to the bottomless pits of partisanship and rhetorical poison some have eagerly embraced in the 'Age of Trump.' Unfortunately for the Democratic Party as a whole, such anger-fueled denial has a spillover effect that hurts the party's electoral chances. In speaking with former high-level Democrats, I am told that one of the main reasons Trump sailed to victory last November was because almost the entirety of the Democratic and far-left echo chamber mortgaged its energy and treasure seeking to demonize Trump rather than addressing the solvable real-world problems plaguing their constituents and fellow Americans. But at what cost is this coming to the Democratic Party or, more importantly, Americans looking to it for desperately needed help? Don't take my word for it. Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban recently laid into Democrats for having no policy or strategy beyond 'Trump sucks.' 'We picked the wrong pressure points,' said Cuban on 'Pod Save America.' 'It's just 'Trump sucks.' That's the underlying thought of everything the Democrats do. 'Trump sucks.' Trump says the sky is blue. 'Trump sucks.' That's not the way to win! It's just not! Because it's not about Trump — it's about the people of the United States of America — and what's good for them! And how do you get them to a place where they're in a better position, and it's less stressful for them.' Cuban — who a growing number of Democrats believe might make a credible presidential candidate in 2028 — is correct. When will it be peak 'theater of the absurd' for that echo chamber? When do working-class and disenfranchised Americans once again matter to it? When does national security once again matter to it? When does the performance art — aimed at literally just a few thousand entrenched elites living in bubbles — stop? If you only got yours information from that echo chamber, you would believe that Trump never accomplished anything; never built anything; was never successful; never made a correct decision; and never had a worthwhile instinct. Ever. And that was before he became president. Since Trump became president, inhabitants of that echo chamber have seemingly been in a constant state of rage. One of the issues that has most made them apoplectic is Trump being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Over the last three decades or longer, the Nobel Prize Committee has become for many the poster child for a 'woke,' in-the-tank for the left organization. Especially when it comes to the Peace Prize. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that, if the committee members admit that they have morphed into a propaganda arm for the far left and its causes. But they won't. Instead, they — like the Pulitzer Prize Committee — proclaim their nonpartisanship while actively discriminating against conservatives or those they perceive to be on the right. In 2015, one of its members, Geir Lundestad — possibly suffering a pang of guilt — had the good grace to admit to a mistake. That mistake being the laughable and sycophantic decision to award President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for literally doing nothing. Obama had been in office for less than nine months when he got the award. Liberal New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof called it 'premature.' Obama himself felt so self-conscious about getting the award that he gave serious thought to skipping the ceremony. Years later, while giving that 2015 interview, Lundestad said, 'Even many of Obama's supporters believed that the prize was a mistake. In that sense, the committee didn't achieve what it had hoped for.' Well, the committee did achieve what it set out to do, which was to fawn over a far-left president by giving him an award he never earned. It just didn't anticipate the immense blowback and ridicule. Again, it seems that, for the left, Trump should never be given any credit for anything. No matter how patently obvious that he deserves it. Even about keeping the peace and saving lives. For years prior to him becoming president — when many powerful Democrats courted his friendship and money — Trump spoke out against the war in Iraq and the needless waste of lives, something he continued to do as president. Just as he has done about the war in Ukraine. Did those calls against war and to save hundreds of thousands of lives ever register with the Nobel Committee? What about in 2020 when Trump created the Abraham Accords, an agreement that normalized relations between Israel and Arab countries? Again, in 2009, the committee awarded Obama the award for 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.' Except, that is not what he did — and yet, he still got the award. Trump established the Abraham Accords — and was ignored by the committee. In 1998, the committee awarded the Peace Prize to John Hume and David Trimble for 'their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.' Okay, let's compare. Just recently, Trump was instrumental in preventing all-out war between India and Pakistan. Two nuclear-armed nations. Is that more valuable to the world than finding a 'peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland?' Apparently not to the committee. In 2019, the committee awarded the Peace Prize to Abiy Ahmed 'for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.' Again, earlier this year, Trump brokered a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. While much of the mainstream media sought to bury the accomplishment, surely the committee knew of it. Mark Cuban was correct to call out the Democrats for only having one failed campaign policy. Trump is correct to call out the Nobel Prize Committee for its obvious and shameful bias. Brokering peace and saving lives should always be recognized — no matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican.
