Entertainer Buju Banton, who has been in a Florida jail awaiting trial on drug charges since last December, will have to wait a bit longer to know his fate.

The trial was again rescheduled on Friday, this time to September.

According to the Tampa Tribune newspaper, district judge James Moody moved the trial without giving a reason. The new development reportedly angered Banton’s attorney David Markus who argued that the latest date change is costly for the defence which will have to re-arrange travel plans for witnesses.

Markus also said the date change violates the Speedy Trial Act which requires a defendant’s trial to start within 70 days of them being arrested.

Objections overruled

Moody overruled Markus’ objections.

This is the third time the trial has been rescheduled. It was originally set for April 19 but two weeks before the start, Moody set it back to June 21.

The Tribune reported that a new date will be set in August.

Moody’s surprise switch is another setback for Banton and his legal team which is led by Markus, a high-profile Miami lawyer. In March, Markus lobbied for Banton to be removed to a facility where conditions are more suitable to his Rastafarian diet. That request was denied.

Banton has been incarcerated since his arrest by Federal agents in Miami on December 10. He and two other men were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, and face lengthy prison sentences.

The entertainer and his attorney have challenged the agents’ story, saying he was set up.

Banton (Mark Myrie) is best known for songs like Browning, Deportee and Driver. His 1995 album, Til Shiloh, is regarded as one of the great reggae albums.

He has had several clashes with gay rights groups in the United States and Europe, largely over his 1993 song Boom Bye Bye. Last year, his Rasta Got Soul tour of the US was marred by protests from gay activists.

Several shows in major cities had to be cancelled.

Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae star whose anti-gay lyrics have drawn international criticism, is in a federal lockup in Miami, facing drug conspiracy charges.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents say Banton, real name Mark Anthony Myrie, has been in custody since Thursday and will soon be transferred to Tampa, where the U.S. Attorney is charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine.

Banton has homes both in Jamaica and Tamarac.

While legions of dancehall reggae enthusiasts view Banton as one of the most prolific voices of Jamaica’s poor masses, critics say he’s a gay basher whose lyrics incite violence by calling for attacking and torturing homosexuals. His song Boom Bye Bye, a dance-hall hit released in the 1990s, advocates shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire.

As late as September, Banton’s local management told The Miami Herald that the criticism of the star was unwarranted because he had stopped singing the song years ago. The song remains a hit among reggae DJs.

Still, such lyrics have made Banton one of the more controversial reggae artists, with angry gay activists this fall forcing the cancellation of a string of concerts by the artists during a U.S. tour that included a Halloween night concert in Miami.

Recently the firestorm ratched up after the Grammys announced that Baton’s album Rasta Got Soul, released earlier this year, was up for an award.

Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition joined with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in a petition drive protesting the nomination.

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) leaders in America have urged musicians to sign a new petition protesting reggae star Buju Banton’s Grammy Award nomination.

The advocacy organization is also calling on Recording Academy members not to support the nomination of Banton’s Rasta Got Soul album in the Best Reggae Album category.

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios says, “Reggae singer Buju Banton’s anti-gay lyrics and the climate of hatred they create are a threat to the safety of gay and transgender people everywhere. In a climate of increased anti-gay violence in America and Banton’s home country of Jamaica, it is deeply disappointing that the Recording Academy would choose to laud the work of a singer who has advocated violence against the gay community.”

The petition and anti-Grammy campaign is the latest in the battle between gay rights groups and Banton, who was forced to reschedule a series of U.S. shows earlier this year when GLAAD official persuaded many venues to ban his act.