You ever simply have someone leave a whole bullet as a message?
At this stage of the game it is much better to have a meeting with the officials so you can let them know exactly what will prompt (to them and theirs) hazardous responses. If you order violence against the mass citizenry through such actions as confiscation of self defense tools or mandatory registration of such tools.
Keep in mind there is only 535 officials in DC. Your state probably has less than that, in total. When these officials get to the point where they fear the common people, all threats against us will subside.
How many officers is there in a battalion of soldiers? 30 or 40, maybe. That’s where the threat is. It is not the troops themselves.