Oversight panel examines alleged DNR retaliation against Detroit Bridal Welfare Group director

LANSING — The Oversight Committee on Weaponization of State Government opened an investigation Tuesday into allegations that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources improperly targeted the Detroit Bridal Welfare Group and its director, Kelly LaBonte, after public criticism of state action in a 2018 Clarkston deer case.

The committee heard testimony that DNR employees sent internal messages suggesting the department ‘‘pull their rehab license’’ and that the agency repeatedly inspected, cited and sought revocation of LaBonte’s wildlife rehabilitation permit despite a 2023 administrative law judge ruling in her favor.

The case matters because LaBonte’s facility in Macomb County cares for roughly 1,000 wild animals a year and, committee members were told, a revocation would leave the county without a major rehabilitation center. ‘‘This is not a partisan issue. This is a constitutional issue. It's a matter of integrity, transparency, and accountability,’’ Chair Regas said when opening the hearing.

Attorney Celeste (counsel for LaBonte) told the committee she had compiled DNR emails and other documents she said demonstrate ‘‘a long running pattern of retaliation’’ after LaBonte and others publicly criticized the DNR’s response to starving deer kept in an enclosure near Clarkston. ‘‘The case I'm gonna tell you about today is probably 1 of the most disgusting cases of retaliation that I've seen in my experience,’’ Celeste said.

LaBonte, appearing by…