>>12095
They are absolutely relying on legal ambiguity, loopholes and the absence of clear legislation. Even if it's rock solid now, a few bills in state legislatures is all it takes to shut down RTTL.
https://forward.com/news/759874/return-to-the-land-peter-csere-tim-griffin-eric-orwoll/
>In a June 30 email obtained by the Forward through a public records request, Gary McGee, an investigator with the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission wrote that “as of today, AFHC has not discovered any actual property owned by this organization or its founder, nor any advertisements for housing.”
>Records show that a limited liability company in both Csere and Orwoll’s name, “Wisdom Woods LLC,” owns adjacent parcels of land totaling 157 acres near the town of Ravenden, where Sky News reporter Tom Cheshire visited the group and spoke with residents of the whites-only community in July.
>Griffin did not respond to the Forward’s request for clarification about why the office believed Return to the Land had not broken any laws and whether it had considered the property owned by Wisdom Woods LLC.
>McGee’s email appears to echo arguments made by Return to the Land about the legality of the arrangement.
>“There is no actual change of real estate title occurring, nor are they renting the land,” Csere wrote in a message to the Forward, differentiating between directly owning land versus purchasing membership units of the LLC that owns the land. “The land stays under the ownership of the business entity that they are becoming a part-owner of.”
>But Stacy Seicshnaydre, a law professor at Tulane University who specializes in fair housing and anti-discrimination law, said she still believes that Return to the Land is likely running afoul of federal housing law.
>She said the structure reminds her of a co-op, where members purchase shares in the corporation that owns the building rather than owning individual apartments.
>“Imagine a co-op in New York City, in Manhattan, saying ‘no Jews,’ and it says, ‘Oh, but we’re a private association,’” she said. “I mean, the purpose of the co-op is to run a housing business.”
>The Fair Housing Act of 1968 is intentionally broad and covers circumstances like these, she said. And yet another law, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 — which prohibits discrimination in property rights on the basis of both race and religion — has no exemptions.
>“I’m not aware of any reason why the civil rights laws would not apply in this circumstance,” Seicshnaydre said.
>Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey appeared to agree with Seicshnaydre. Local media asked him about the legality of Return to the Land after Orwoll told a Missouri news station earlier this month that he hopes the group will soon expand to the state.
>“Bailey is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all citizens,” a spokesperson for Bailey told the Missouri Independent in a statement this week. “The landmark Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer, which originated in St. Louis, made clear that government cannot enforce racially discriminatory housing practices, and Missouri will not tolerate efforts to revive them.”
https://forward.com/fast-forward/793714/return-to-the-land-ben-waxman-pennsylvania-peter-csere-white-nationalism
>While private clubs are allowed to give housing preference to people of the same religion, that exemption does not apply to organizations that sell or rent housing to the public for commercial purposes, according to Chad Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the state’s civil rights enforcement agency.
>In recent months, Return to the Land updated its website to say that it “does not engage in the sale or rental of real estate,” language that appears aimed at strengthening its claim to private club status.
>But the group’s own operating agreement from 2024, obtained by the Forward, references “sale of real estate,” “rental properties within the community,” and an “HOA,” or homeowners association.
>Even if Return to the Land did qualify as a private club, Lassiter said, it would still be barred from discriminating on the basis of race. The only limited exception allowed under Pennsylvania law is for religious preference.