While the grand jury deliberates, Ferguson holds its breath and prepares for protests

As the St. Louis County grand jury continues to deliberate on whether or not to charge Officer Darren Wilson with a crime for killing Michael Brown, Ferguson, and many cities and towns across the United States brace for the possibility of protests and violence.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Several groups in Ferguson are already planning on what action to take if Wilson is not indicted.

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One group has decided that it will disrupt business be descending en mass upon the county seat of Clayton, Missouri, at seven in the morning the day after the grand jury makes their announcement.

Another group met in St. Louis and announced that it will boycott the area's retailers during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping period.

Protests have been occurring in the Ferguson area for 100 days now, since August, and numerous different groups have taken part including new groups like Hands Up United and Lost Voices. At issue, they say, is not just the death of Brown, but what many perceive to be racial profiling and misconduct by police officers.

The grand jury is expected to announce a decision in the next week or two, and the numerous protest groups are preparing to protest a non-indictment vote.

Group organizers are outlining procedures for dealing with police, distributing a number of pieces of equipment and supplies-including bandages and goggles-and establishing areas for protesters to escape the cold or tear gas.

A larger part of the preparation is trying to prevent any future demonstrations from turning violent. Many group organizers claim they want their protest to make a lasting and national change, but they fear that looting, arson or rioting would damage not just their image, but their goals too.

"We've come to the conclusion that we really don't want violence," said Bud Cuzz, an organizer with Lost Voices. "We want to fix this. We still want to fight to make the laws change. We still want to raise awareness. But we don't want the city to turn upside down."

However, not all groups share this sentiment.

On Twitter, one group is offering a reward for the whereabouts of Wilson. At another point it said it was "restocking on 7.62 and 9 mm ammo."

While the groups may be split and the nation holds its breath, it is unclear exactly what fate will befall Ferguson and St. Louis.

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