The big Whitman-Brown California gubernatorial debate at Dominican College in San Rafael already has plenty of drama going — protesters from the California Nurses Association and other groups here in force. And Laura Wells, the Green Party candidate for governor, was arrested just minutes ago and put into a patrol car.

Marnie Glickman, the spokeswoman for Wells, said that the two had tickets to the debate and were entering Angelico Hall, when they were pulled aside by authorities. She said that they were told that they could not enter because of her status as a gubernatorial candidate.

Comrade Garofoli notes that “of course, this being the Bay Area, this isn’t the first time that a Green Party candidate got arrested outside a major office debate. In 2000, the Green nominee for U.S. Senate — soon-to-be Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin — was arrested outside the studios of KRON-TV where Republican Tom Campbell and Democrat Dianne Feinstein were debating.”

We’re trying to get comment from Dominican officials, and we’ll update.

Meantime, stay tuned here for regular debate updates and coverage.

Here’s Glickman speaking to our own SFGate.com’s Shaky Hand Productions moments after the event: