A former Virginia college student has been charged with falsely reporting bomb threats and active shootings as part of what the authorities called an effort by a nationwide ring of white supremacists to incite panic and draw a heightened law enforcement response.

The targets of the spreading of false reports — a practice known as swatting — included a historic black church in Alexandria, Va.; campus buildings at Old Dominion University; and an address for a person under Secret Service protection, an F.B.I. agent said in an affidavit filed last Wednesday in federal court in Virginia.

The former student, John William Kirby Kelley, 19, was arrested on Friday in connection with the swatting ring, which investigators said used the dark web and masking technology to conceal their IP addresses and phone numbers.

A public defender assigned to Mr. Kelley, who is in custody and scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, declined to comment.