ISTANBUL – On Nov. 26, 2002, George W. Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) into federal legislation. Though this act was designed to provide reimbursement of damages caused by acts of terrorism, it also provided a definition of what exactly the United States government defines as an act of terrorism. According to TRIA, "The term 'act of terrorism' refers to any act of terrorism that is a violent act or an act that poses danger to human life, property or infrastructure. It must be committed as part of an effort to coerce U.S. civilians or to influence either policy or conduct of the U.S. Government through coercion." The Gülen Movement's actions against the Turkish government in these past months fall directly within this description.

The Dec. 17 operation in which allegations of corruption were used to pressure the ruling AK Party government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan into resignation falls within the very definition of an effort to influence the policy and conduct of the government through coercion.
The Gülen Movement's infiltration within the judiciary and justice system has allowed them to control legislation within the country while securing the safety of their organization at the expense of others.

This organized infiltration not only allowed them to engage in coercion, it also endangered the integrity of state infrastructure.
The fact that the Gülen Movement had been wiretapping over 7,000 Turkish citizens over the past three years was revealed late February. Using the influence of their members in the judiciary, the Gülen Movement unlawfully endangered the lives and intellectual property of all these individuals.

Of the total 7,000 people wiretapped, 3,000 are influential figures in government, finance, business, media and academia; the most noteworthy being Prime Minister Erdoğan himself.

By endangering intellectual property of Turkish citizens and the infrastructure of the state in order to coerce the government to do their bidding, the Gülen Movement's actions fit the bill of what the United States defines as terrorism in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.