It’s not likely that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson will be indicted for the August killing of Michael Brown. Civil rights charges are also unlikely. But that doesn’t mean troublemakers aren’t out in force in the St. Louis suburb. They’re waiting to pounce when the grand jury makes its decision, possibly Friday.

Indeed, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency in preparation for the decision, and he activated the National Guard to help handle any possible riots.

Protesters are better organized now than rioters were in August. While outside groups from the New Black Panthers to Tibetan Monks came when the riots and protests first broke out, some lifelong protesters have stayed to prepare for when the decision on Wilson is handed down. They’re teaching classes on “militant non-violent disobedience.”

Community organizer Rev. Osagyefo Sekou explained, “[W]e use the word ‘militant’ as opposed to the word ‘passive’ non-violent civil disobedience because we are about a direct encounter with the state to create drama to show that we are willing to take a risk in confronting the state because of injustice.”

A video shows protest organizers planning on targeting the white neighborhoods of Ferguson. Many in the community are boarding up businesses, stockpiling food and purchasing firearms.

Meanwhile, police and protesters are negotiating 19 rules of engagement for police officers monitoring protests. Some of the rules reinforce what the Constitution already says, like rule 19: “Bond for arrestees will not be set above the levels which would be considered average over the last two years, and arrestees will not be held for periods longer than average lengths of time.” Other rules limit the power that the police wielded on the streets of Ferguson in the past. Rule 15 says, “Police will be instructed to be tolerant of more minor lawbreaking (such as thrown water bottles) when deciding whether to escalate the use of force.”

Perhaps some of this organization and preparation is because, as Al Sharpton recounted, Barack Obama met with protesters and encouraged them to “stay on course.” It’s hard to say exactly what that means, other than to speculate based on the administration’s race-baiting agenda that they want some unrest.

All the better to distract blacks from Obama’s amnesty executive order, which will open the flood gates for job and wage competition for blacks, who already suffer from high unemployment.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) justified the grotesque behavior of the rabble. “The rush to judgment by some in the African-American community is, in fact, understandable,” she said, “because in our country there are racial disparities in terms of how people are treated.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) took that sentiment further, comparing Ferguson to civil rights events in Selma, Alabama: “When we were beaten on that bridge in Selma, people couldn’t take it, for they saw it, they heard about it, they read about it, and it lit a sense of righteous indignation. When we see a miscarriage of justice in Ferguson, they’re going to have the same reaction they had towards Selma.” He called for nationwide protests if Officer Wilson isn’t indicted.

Michael Brown’s parents certainly think there’s a case to be made, and they took it to the UN Committee Against Torture. Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said, “We need the world to know what’s going on in Ferguson and we need justice. We need answers and we need action. And we have to bring it to the UN so they can expose it to the rest of the world.”

Expose what – that their son, likely impaired by marijuana, robbed a convenience store, assaulted a police officer and got himself killed? And what do his parents expect from the UN, which is itself a collection of thug dictatorships that murder their own citizens? We hate to pile on grief-stricken parents, but this is beyond the pale.

This is nothing like Selma, and it’s not an “understandable” reaction to “racial disparities.”

Lost in all of this is Officer Wilson. In the court of public opinion, Wilson has been tried and found guilty. But Claire McCaskill doesn’t seem to mind. She said, “Once their investigations are complete, Officer Wilson will either be indicted, and then of course he will be removed from the police department, or he will not be indicted, in which case Officer Wilson has to decide what the future holds for him.” That’s an awfully cavalier attitude to have toward a man whose life has been upended and threatened.

Ferguson is at a tipping point. Police and protesters each have an opportunity to acquit themselves better than they did in August. But things aren’t looking promising.