You put forth the idea in your parent comment that there is a simple bright-line test -- apparently textual -- for deciding whether a remark is an innocuous opinion or a credible threat.
So -- bearing in mind that the speaker's henchmen said they interpreted it as a command -- which side of the line does "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" fall on?
[0]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_no_one_rid_me_of_this_tur...