Co-founder of whites-only group speaks on previous homestead stabbing

Yahoo

5 days ago

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The co-founder of Return to the Land (RTTL), a whites-only private member association developing a community in northern Arkansas and expanding to Missouri, has spoken to Ozarks First regarding a stabbing incident he was involved in at a decentralized vegan community in Ecuador.
Eric Orwoll, RTTL co-founder, told Ozarks First last week that a group of people is considering developing an RTTL community near Springfield.
Ozarks First has discovered that one of RTTL's co-founders, Peter Csere, was once part of a vegan community in Ecuador called Fruit Haven that featured similar RTTL components, such as community land buys.
According to Csere's GoFundMe that was created when he sought financial assistance for legal aid after a violent incident with miners, he was investigated by Ecuadorian authorities for attempted homicide, but Csere maintains his innocence, saying the incident was a case of self-defense.
Fruit Haven's website — which Csere said isn't accurate anymore and is run by 'one person' in the United States — accuses Csere of financial misuse and violence. A Fruit Haven contact, however, said there are still 40 owners in the community.
'Prior to his departure, Csere was involved in a violent incident with Ecuadorian miners illegally operating on a then recently purchased property, FH9,' Fruit Haven's website says.
Fruit Haven says that following repeated conflicts and threats, Csere — while accompanied by government officials — documented the mining activity with a drone.
Fruit Haven says that during the altercation, Csere stabbed one of the miners, supposedly to defend himself, resulting in a collapsed lung to one of the Ecuadorian miners. '(Csere) subsequently faced criminal charges in Ecuador, which likely influenced his decision to leave the country,' Fruit Haven added.
But, Csere says, Fruit Haven's account of the incident with the miners is 'quite inaccurate.'
'Government inspectors from the Ministry of the Environment asked me to accompany them on an inspection of an illegal operation,' Csere said. 'Miners attacked us (me and our two Ecuadorian workers and the government inspector). It was an unprovoked attack using logs, machetes, and pepper spray.'
Csere said the miners threatened to kill them, and they managed to defend themselves and run away. He denounced violence but supported self-defense.
'The Bible teaches us to 'turn the other cheek' in our response to personal slights and offenses, but it also teaches us that self-defense and defense of one's family is legitimate,' Csere said.
Csere said RTTL is a 'lawful organization that does not condone violence,' and if a member were to commit a serious crime, they would be expelled. The group requires a criminal background check for everyone who joins an RTTL community.
State lawmaker responds to whites-only community potentially coming to Springfield
Csere told Ozarks First he left Ecuador in 2023. He said that while some media reports claim he fled the country because the miners were attempting to press charges against him from an altercation, he actually left many months after the incident occurred. Additionally, he said his travel was not restricted and that there were no charges pressed against him.
'There were many reasons for leaving,' Csere said. 'The community I lived in embraced a lifestyle that I consider to be immoral and degenerate. The Ecuadorian government was incompetent and corrupt, and crime was rising every year.'
Csere said he wanted to start a family and live in a community with 'wholesome, traditional values.'
He met Orwoll after he saw a video Orwoll had made discussing a meetup in Missouri in 2023. That video was shared to an existing community in the Ozarks that is similar to RTTL, and at the time, Csere was already considering moving to the Ozarks to start a homestead.
LOCAL LEADERS CONDEMN RTTL
Several Springfield-area leaders have condemned RTTL, including the NAACP Springfield Chapter, which released a statement today on Tuesday, July 29.
'The NAACP Springfield Chapter vehemently condemns the proposed expansion of RTTL, a community explicitly designated as whites-only, beyond the borders of Springfield,' the statement says. '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.'
The NAACP said RTTL's segregationist stance perpetuates division and discrimination, and its expansion outside Springfield threatens to undermine the principles of unity and diversity that are fundamental to our community's fabric.
'We call on Springfield's leaders to publicly denounce this initiative and to stand in opposition to any efforts that promote racial segregation or exclusion,' the statement says.
The NAACP extended appreciation to elected officials such as Representative Jeremy Dean, Councilwoman Monica Horton and others, who have condemned RTTL.
'There is no room in Springfield, no room in Missouri for a group to come and call home that sets us back decades and decades and allows segregation and racism and horrible, awful rhetoric to exist in our own community,' said Missouri State Representative Betsy Fogle.
While no City official has been contacted regarding an alleged 'whites only' proposed development in the 'Springfield area,' City Manager David Cameron made it clear that there is no place anywhere, let alone in Springfield, Missouri, for this type of development.
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