U.S. First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday visited a charter school operated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in Oklahoma.
Mrs. Trump paid a visit to the Dove School of Discovery during her anti-bullying "Be Best" initiative.
"Thank you to the teachers, leadership & students of DOVE School of Discovery in Tulsa for welcoming me today. There is great work being done! It is so important that education includes not only academics, but the importance of a strong sense of character & values. #BeBest," Mrs. Trump wrote on Twitter.
Residing in Pennsylvania since 1999, the FETÖ's ringleader, Fetullah Gülen, is known as the man who controls around 140 charter schools and $500 million annually from the U.S. government, according to some U.S. media reports.
While the administrators of FETÖ schools deny they have links to FETÖ's leader Gülen, the financial relationships between the schools and other FETÖ institutions raise questions about the relationship.
The FETÖ's schools nationwide are part of the largest charter schools network in the U.S. Some of the schools are currently under FBI investigation for irregularities, unlawful profits, corruption, fraud and forgery.
The FETÖ's infiltrators in the military, from generals to low-ranking officers, were behind the coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 250 people, and Turkey has already sent a large cache of evidence to U.S. officials implicating the FETÖ in the attempt.
The United States' apparent reluctance to extradite Gülen, one of the most wanted people in Turkey, remains a deep rift in relations between the two countries. Ankara had formally requested Gülen be extradited on July 19, 2016.
Since then however, Turkish officials believe there was insufficient progress on the matter. They are also accused of infiltrating educational and other institutions in Turkey and worldwide for nefarious purposes, including subverting the state.
